Dallas/Fort Worth → Vonage VoIP Service in DFW?

Saw a news report on the tele a few days ago about Vonage VoIP telephone service. I checked the rates and whether I can keep my phone number in 972-31X and can do so. I have Verizon land line, which after all the taxes and fees runs $54.59/mo, without any long distance.

From what I've seen so far, Vonage's $24.99 plan (unlimited local plus 500 mins. LD along with CID, etc.) looks to be a sweet deal compared to Verizon.

Has anyone here signed up for Vonage service, specifically in the DFW area? If so, what was the up front costs (equipment, etc.) and ultimate monthly after tax cost? How about sound quality and bandwidth requirements?

TIA,

Phil

I have Vonage at my office, up in Wichita Falls (2 hours away)

I love it. It work great!

I signed up for a $40/month plan.

Up front I paid about $83, this with a month of service equipment, activation, and taxes.

On a monthly basis, I see about $3 in taxes on my $40 plan.

The only problem I have, is support. As a business who pays more the a residential user, I get NO added support or even a business only support access. If I have a problem, which is very few times, but I can e-mail, and get a response in 12-24 hours, or call and be on hold for awhile, as I'm in the same hold line as all users, residential, and business.

But I don't need support very often.

If you would like to try Vonage, I would be happy to send you a coupon for service.

I have had Vonage in Dallas for a year and 2 months. The service is great. The quality is just as good or better than a normal phone... unless you have a subpar internet connection. What kind of connection do you have?

I signed up for the $40 plan originally, but moved down to the $25 when I noticed that I didn't use that much long distance. The price is terrific! Be sure to get a referral from an existing user by sending them your email address. That should get you at least a months worth of credit for free.

Good luck!

After doing a bit more research on Vonage, I found the upfront cost info, which is $68.08 for the unlimited local plan. Not bad - I'll recoup that in less than four months.

I also ran across a Vonage forum site that lists some interesting discussions on the service.

»www.vonage-forum.com/index.html

There's a mix of reviews in there, which left me with the impression that residential VoIP service is not without its problems.

I have Comcast CI, and the service is markedly improved in my area since ATTBI left the scene, so perhaps I'll give Vonage a shot. Bye bye Verizon...

I'm sure you will be very happy. If you would like a coupon for 1 month of free service, let me know.

Brent

I think you will like it. Most of the people you hear from that have had problems were do to their connections. (whether they thought so or not)

have had it for close to a year, completely ditched verizon, and love it. Pay $25 for home service and also have the small biz plan. Saves me plenty each month and the quality is fine.

S13

What about www.Addaline.com? Keep your business local (sister company to august.net »User reviews - August.net Services, LLC ) and rates start out at $12.95 per month and that includes 1000 local minutes. Long distance is .06 per minute. We have everything Vonage has, except for a marketing budget

I'd really like someone using Vonage to try us out and let us know who they like better.

Hi Rocky,

I took a look at the site, and the company looks like it could be something in the near future, but still looks very young.

One thing that will kill you over the big boys (Vonage, etc) is equipment cost. You are charging $175 upfront for the equipment, Vonage is $25.

Long distance is another, with the national plan, you get 200 US minutes, and after that you pay 6 cents a minute.

Again, I see some great potential, but it appears to me at least, the company is just getting started. Please correct me on any of my points, By no means I'm I saying it is a bad company as I know nothing more then what the web site states.

Thanks

this may seem like a stupid question... But I have SBC for my local service and my DSL. Would I be able to take advantage of this service (i.e. how would it affect my DSL)?

You can get VoIP, but if you have ADSL (which is typically the flavor of xDSL SBC sell), you need to keep a voice line.

ADSL piggy backs on a voice line, and must have an active dial tone.

SDSL and IDSL, do not need a voice line, and a location can have these xDSL options with no Voice via the Telco.

We are about to announce another piece of hardware we are selling for $75 so that's our new installation fee. I think Vonage is seeded by Cisco so we can't compete with them on hardware unfortunately.
I failed to mention that our $12.95 per month package includes 200 minutes of US long distance. Here's the details: »www.addaline.com/learnmo ··· ut=local
Note that the contract is month to month.

By the way, we know that we can't compete with the big boys in advertising dollars. So what's our plan?
We want to get other companies selling our VoIP and branding it as their own then we take a small percent. We are going to roll this product out in January or February and a company will be able to sell VoIP in less than 30 minutes from when they tell us to get started. It would just be a new profitable service that technically minded companies add to their product line with practically zero start up. It is totally skinnable and it all resides on your websites server.

I don't want to start talking crazy here, but ISP's could actually be able to sell a profitable product!

sounds interesting!

Thanks for the info.

Thanks for all the feedback. I also checked the VoIP forum at this web site and found generally positive comments about the service. I'll report back in a few months about how the switch went.

Time now to draft the implementation plan...

so what this service...you can make unlimited free long distance calls?

said by Fobulous:

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so what this service...you can make unlimited free long distance calls?

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Are you asking about Vonage?

Vonage is a VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) solution

Basically it uses your broadband connection to make phone calls, You get a ATA (phone box) and plug this into your existing network, or between your modem, and computer, and plug a regular phone into it.

This allows you to bypass most telco switches, and depending on the package you get, it includes FREE long distance.

You can also get a phone number from almost anywhere in the US. So even living in Plano, you can have NYC #, if you wanted, lol

You can also add virtual #'s to your account, so lets say you get a dallas/plano #, but have a family member in LA. You can also have an LA #, so that person can call you, and also have no long distance.

You also get Free Vonage to Vonage calls, no matter what plan you are on.

I have been using Vonage for awhile now, and really like it. let me know if you have any other questions, or would like a month of free service. I can send you a coupon.

I noticed that Comcast has the Digital Phone plans..is this the same as VOIP or it's VOCoax??

There are so many new companies offering voip and it will only get more crowded when the Bells actually step into the ring. My cousin lives in Allen and got her service from the high speed provider for her apartment complex. She likes it but I have never heard of them: »www.quantumvoice.com

As I posted in another thread, I have QuantumVoice and it is very good. No issues, and it is great to be able to just pick up the phone and call anyone I want, knowing full well that it won't "cost" me anymore than my flat rate. International rates are great too.

Plus, I have taken my ATA to others with BB, and just hooked it up and dialed away. I did this to demonstrate how easy it is and discovered the true portability!

Check them out at www.quantumvoice.com

If you want to sign up, use IBR # 1031.