VOIP Tech Chat → [Other Providers] Vonage, Packet8 VS Time Warner Digital Phone

I currently have Time Warner's Digital Phone. Does anyone really know what the difference is to TW Digital phone and like Vonage or Packet8, Besides the price?

I am looking to cut costs once again and I notice that Vonage is pretty cheap for what you get.

KENNY

I don't live in the TW service area so I might have the wrong idea, but if I'm correct:

TW Digital Voice never travels over the internet as Vonage & P8's services do. TW will cost more but be more reliable and have superior call quality. Vonage & P8 uses the internet to transmit data and can't control all the issues that crop up when the data is not in their control.

So if you want quality, pay the price and use TW. If you want a great price and are willing to put up with a few problems here and there, go with Vonage, P8 or similar services.

There may be two other differences, as well. A local provider like TW can provide a local interface to the PSTN, so some "region sensitive" toll free numbers will work normally with it, where they may not with a national provider like Vonage or P8. The other difference can be that E911 will work out of the box, with no special changes needed.

I think it is retarded why does it natter where the 800 # is? I think FCC should look in to this 800 # blocking by vonage.

Vonage claims all calls in US/Canada are $24.99 so they should state that they block region 800 #'s.

800 #, lousy 911 service, ever since I sign up they just get wrost funny no bad comments before I got them.

Uhm, its not Vonage that is blocking the calls. The phone company sets up the toll free number so that calls from certain area codes/prefixes are allowed through. Calls from Vonage may orginiate outside of these allowed rules.

If Vonage is such a problem for you, why do you continue to put up with it? Hang it up and go back to your POTS provider and quit complaining.

1. Vonage does not block any 800 calls. As a previous poster stated, a regional 800 number may be used all over the country but in a different region, it will be routed to a different company and that company may have regional blocks placed on it also. It's not Vonage's fault, they aren't blocking anything, and the FCC wouldn't get involved.

2. There's been PLENTY of bad comments about Vonage since I joined this forum a LONG time ago, before you joined. Every single VOIP provider has complaints, many, many complaints. But they also have happy customers too. My Vonage with an old ATA-186 works nearly flawlessly nearly all the time. But I never try to use 911 with them nor do I try to call customer service except at 3AM and only when I absolutely need to.

Another provider - USA Datanet, I believe their traffic routes on their IP network vs. internet. Cost are competitive with Vonage,etc.. So far (4 months) call quality has been good and customer service has been responsive. Compared to TWC, the cost is significantly lower, two differences that I can see - TWC has E911, but does not have Virtual #'s; Datanet has 911 routed to PSAP (after registering) and can support up to 5 virtual #s.

It is up to the company footing the 800 bill where it can be called from, on a state by state basis.

For example the company I work for only deals in Nebraska and Iowa, so we only accept those states.

It's a way to keep you 800 costs under control, sales people will bang away on you 800 lines much more once they know them since you are paying!

Really? Looking at their website, »www.usadatanet.com/voip.html it looks like another VoIP provider, using the Internet. They do contract with Global Crossing for voice connections ( »www.globalcrossing.com/x ··· y/09.xml ) so I'm not sure what's different between them and other national scale providers. Do they really use a separate network infrasturcture, perhaps in certain geographic areas?

I never heard of a regional 800 # if that is the case.