Voip

[tigger]

Any body have one of these and what is the verdict? Thinking about changing and saving over a grand on home phone bills.

[AD]

I used to, it was OK when connection idle but call quality really suffered while I was downloading or uploading anything.

That said I have friends and used to work at a company that used VOIP exclusively and no problems at all.

Sorry I couldn't be definitive, hehe.

[tigger]

Thanks , our work changed over recently , sparked my interest.

[Basher]

It really depends on the quality of your Internet connection. It can also be really annoying when the power goes out or Internet goes down and you can't make/receive calls. You still need a cell as a backup IMO.

[SaggyBalls]

If you have an alarm system you may not be able to use VOIP, as a landline or wireless option is generally mandatory.

[Guest Low Roller]

I use VOIP when calling HQ over in England. The call quality is really good, with only some minor quibbles here and there, such as occasional 'Transformer' voice.

Overall I am quite satisfied. It saves a ton of cash on oversea calls.

[bouche]

The ONLY time I have issues is when i'm UPLOADING. Uploading at fullspeed affects everything these days. It has to do with the way the providers partition and allocate the bandwidth. Downloading doesn't affect our Vonage line much, but if it doesn, I just put everything on pause, or limit upload/download. That's rare though.

Our internet has been down once this year, but we have cellphone access so it's no big deal. You setup the vonage line to forward calls to your cell phone if there is no connection.

[SolarGarlic]

We were with Vonage for 3 years and liked it a lot. Uploading/Talking is a pain. You should have a cell as a back-up for sure though. It's a really great service for long distance too. That's our experience with it..1.5 thumbs up I guess...

[tigger]

thanks folks , I appreciate the knowledge .

[Kanada Kev]

Go Vonage. Like others have said as long as you have good quality ISP then there are no issues.

Great features: Set up calls to be directly routed to another number (cell phone) if your ISP is ever down. Instant access to info online and control of features. Simul-ring (set it up so that your phone rings on multi numbers - home, cell, work - and whichever picks up first takes the call). Voicemail automatically forwarded to any email as an MP3 attachment (love this). FREE anywhere in North America on the $19.99 plan (free for Western Europe on the $39.99 plan) You can also take your VOIP box with you anywhere and have it work as long as you get an internet connection.

Vonage is wayyy cheaper than the standard providers (Bell, Rogers, Cogeco, Sympatico, etc.)

As for security systems, they don't work on VOIP (well mine did for some time, but it can be a bit flakey). Better to have cell service on home alarms anyway (even though the police never get there in time to stop any thieves ).

[MamaPink]

I've been with Vonage for years, and love all the money I've been saving. I don't mind putting up with the crap sound quality every now and then if it means I never have to give another dime to Bell.

[Ms.Huxtable]

Dito MamaPink. The amount of money we save BY FAR makes up for any minor glitches. We've saved thousands over the past few years. There's no better argument than that IMO.