Vonage Phone Service

[supplywife]

I am not sure how many others have this problem, but we recently moved to Athens, GA and found that there was no phone service available for less than $50 a month so we started looking in Voice over IP phones and found that VOnage has a really great deal.

We have just signed up and not set up yet, so I really don't have too many details but here goes:

(I copied this directly from the website www.vonage.com)

Vonage's Premium Unlimited Plan offers the following for the low price of $24.99 a month:
Unlimited calls anywhere in the US (including Puerto Rico) & Canada
Free features such as: Voicemail Plus
3-Way Calling Call Waiting
Call Forwarding Caller ID with Name
911 Dialing

Free phone adapter if you sign up directly from Vonage
Competitive international rates
No annual contracts
30-day Money Back Guarantee


Added Benefits
Switch to Vonage and keep your phone number
Vonage has area codes available across the US and in other countries
Real time billing information anytime through your online web account
Quick access to local emergency services with Vonage's 911 Dialing feature


Requirements
You must have a broadband Ethernet Internet connection
You need a US or Puerto Rico shipping address (no PO boxes) and a US or Puerto Rico credit/debit card
Once you sign up, we will ship your startup package within 5 business days. To start saving, simply connect your telephone to your high-speed Internet connection using the Vonage phone adapter. Pick up the phone, and use it just like you do today!


So for us, taxes included it is gong to be about $27 a month for this "premium plan" and we were able to choose a number that is local for our family in Oklahoma to call us and not burn through our cell phone minutes (like we did this month!)

I'll post more when we set it all up....

OK, my husband just got off the phone with them and: they waived activation fee, first month, and adapter ($150 or so) and our first month bill is a grand total of $11.45. Whoo hoo!!

 

[jamnww]

Great deal but make sure they can get you a LOCAL phone number or your unit will make you get another one...

 

[ChunksJR]

It's all we use. I also used it in Bahrain...a 757 area code rang me in Bahrain! Not bad for 24 bones/month.

 

[HAL Pilot]

Skype is free for computer-computer calling and it can be forwarded to cell phones or land lines for about 1 cent a minute.

Most guys I know that fly international in the civilian world use Skype.

It's like MSN Messenger on steroids with a phone capability added.

 

[Squid]

I use vonage. I recommend it. It also has 911 service (make sure you fill out the part about where you live), AND you can have multiple phone #'s ring to your phone for a couple of extra bones a month. Say kids at college call home a lot, make one of your #'s a local one for them, etc.

Voicemail via email is nice. So is vacation mode, where you forwarrd to your cell phone, etc.

 

[brd2881]

Problem is that Vonage is not available everywhere yet. We really wanted to use it in South Texas...no dice...same with Lemoore....so I spend about 40 bucks more a month for basically the same plan. Hopefully it will become nationwide soon enough.

 

[HH-60H]

A company called Sunrocket is the same thing. It costs a little less and you don't have to pay for the VOIP box. I have had it for a year now, and I love it, the price especially. With the year plan it's about $17/month, and they just let me renew at about $15/month. I think it has even less coverage than Vonage right now.

 

[Physicx]

Which companies allow you to use cell phones?

 

[Gatordev]

Verizon, Cingular, T-Mobile...

 

[nittany03]

Thing to remember with VoIP is that if your power goes out, there goes your Internet, there goes your phone. Might be a potentially inconvenient thing to lose. That's what turned me and my roommates off getting it.

 

[Brett327]

Thing to remember with VoIP is that if your power goes out, there goes your Internet, there goes your phone. Might be a potentially inconvenient thing to lose. That's what turned me and my roommates off getting it.

That may be, but how many people these days are still using an old school plug into the wall corded phone vice a cordless which requires power? I don't think I've had a corded phone in at least 10 years.

Brett

 

[webmaster]

I still have a non-cordless phone in the living room and next to my computer...why? because the damn kids walk off with the cordless phones and god knows where they are when I need to use the phone... also, I KNOW the phone call is not for me, that stopped a year or so ago, and I don't really want to answer anyways if its work asking me to come in and check exercise message traffic... sigh...

BTW, I am cancelling my Vonage service this month... It was great, but network congestion on my service provider has made it impossible to maintain a phone call lately. My GUESS is that since they (ISP) rolled out their own VOIP phone service, that they are interrupting any of the other providers. There are a couple articles on the web about how there are some moves afoot to block routing of VOIP through certain backbones (or slow them down). I bet Machine has a much better picture on all that, if he wants to chime in.

And no, I am stuck with only ONE broadband ISP available. It sucks to be in Japan, and 200 yards away, if I was off base, I could get some of the fastest connections on the planet (100MB fiber line anyone???)... another sigh...

John

 

[HH-60H]

Thing to remember with VoIP is that if your power goes out, there goes your Internet, there goes your phone. Might be a potentially inconvenient thing to lose. That's what turned me and my roommates off getting it.

Yeah, but do you guys have cell phones? If so there's your backup. Just keep them charged, and if you have a car charger then you good.

 

[ChunksJR]

It sucks to be in Japan, and 200 yards away, if I was off base, I could get some of the fastest connections on the planet (100MB fiber line anyone???)... another sigh...

We had the same problem in Bahrain where the flats had the DSL through the one router somewhere down in the basement.

Being on a Cable Broadband connection, however, I've never had the connectivity issues with it.

 

[webmaster]

We had the same problem in Bahrain where the flats had the DSL through the one router somewhere down in the basement.

Being on a Cable Broadband connection, however, I've never had the connectivity issues with it.

Yeah, its definitely my ISP... was great for 6 months, and recently has gotten really crappy. All my friends with Vonage have been complaining and cancelling. I would not doubt that the ISP is not priority routing those packets... especially since they are pushing their own VOIP solution.

At least I have a "broadband" connection...