I am ready to change telephone/internet providers. I have been paying way too much thru my present provider. One VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) can cut my bill by $100 and that's with unlimited long distance to the US and Canada. In case you don't know, VoIP uses your computer and telephone for local and long distance service and requires an adaptor and special telephone. Two negative things I have read about VoIP is that you will have no phone service when the power goes out and you can't always use your present phone number. It's important to me to be able to use my present phone number since I have to pay for my small listing in the yellow pages. I found a regular telephone/internet provider that doesn't use VoIP for same price. Looking forward to hearing from others who use VoIP. Judy
[ February 14, 2007, 09:07 PM: Message edited by: Judy Pate ]
Posted by Dawud Shaheed (Member # 5719) on :
when I was out of the US I used Netzero through the computer. You don't need a phone or even high speed internet, it will work off dial up. It was only 14.99 a month for unlimited within us and canada and I used a microphone and headphones or just listened through my pc speakers when I made calls. Worked fine for what I needed at the time. You can only receive calls when the pc is on though, which i kind of liked.
Posted by David Fisher (Member # 107) on :
Hi Judy, I'm very happy with my VoIP service which is bundled into my internet service providers plan. I wrote a spreadsheet before changing so I could do a comparison. After I did the comparison I thought there must have been an error on my part because the savings were so substantial, there was an error but it turned out to be on the other side of the equation. The actual savings were greater than the spreadsheet projected. As an added bonus the audio quality is higher on the VoIP number. Because the plan included an improved dsl connection we grabbed a faster internet connection into the deal. Since I went to voIP about 2 years ago the market has become a lot more competitive and the plans are worse than mobile phones in their complexity. Assuming the US market is the same or more complex I would weigh up the number and type of calls you make against your existing bill. Connection quality gaurantees and fallback options would also be important. If you are considerng VoIP through a third party provider I would ask about the hardware costs because this will affect the payback period of the plan. HTH
Posted by Amy Brown (Member # 1963) on :
Judy,
My husband's place of employment has it through Brighthouse and he hates it. Said it never works right and no one can hear him. He uses his cell phone to call people instead.
One of my ood friend has it through Brighthouse as well. Theirs never works either. She also uses the cell phone.
I don't know about others. I worry more about the power issue you brought up and the 911 problems. That keeps me with my regular phone line for now. Although I use my cell more and more as the prices get lower and the minutes offered get higher.
Posted by Judy Pate (Member # 237) on :
Another thing I thought about is that my computer would have to be connected 24/7 to have any phone service. I am leaning toward keeping a regular line. My friend is dropping her business line and going with a cell phone in order to cut costs. I will keep my business line for now since it's listed in the yellow pages but next year I can list my cell phone. I appreciate your replies. Judy
Posted by Jillbeans (Member # 1912) on :
I signed up for Vonage Tuesday... Got the little device today... Just cancelled it and am sending it back. I couldn't receive cell phone calls from Canada on it. My mom heard the echo of her own voice on it. Say for example you have a phone by your bed, you'd have to have a lonnnng phone cord to connect to wherever your Vonage device is. It was VERY hard to get them to take NO for an answer as well! And I will be charged a disconnection fee of $39.99 pending my returning their device. Not worth it in my book. Love....Jill
Posted by Joey Madden (Member # 1192) on :
I'm not as computer savy as one may think and I have to have some kind of phone service in order to speak with the persons I know all over this planet. my best friend lives in Thailand and we know each other since we were six. I speak with him at least three times a week through Yahoo messenger and Steve Shortreed through Skype, these calls I make directly on the computer and also feature webcam hook up so we can view who we are speaking with. As I understand it, Skype offers phone service at under thirty dollars a year anywhere in the U.S. and overseas rates are less than 2 cents per minute. Like I said I don't now much about what others need but my phone bill on my cell runs less then sixty monthly and DSL hook up is free as my wifi connects to most anywhere wherever I am, even at home and to top this reply off, it probably doesn't have anything to do with your problems Judy but figured it just might help you Posted by Judy Pate (Member # 237) on :
Thanks Jill and Joey! I know about Skype. I am glad to hear about your expierence with Vonage, Jill. I knew it sounded too good to be true. Joey, I think I will use Skype for my calls to Canada and overseas from now on. Judy
Posted by Charlie Wade (Member # 6504) on :
I've been using skype for quite some time now. Very happy with the service. I think it's less than $15 for the year.
Posted by Kimberly Zanetti (Member # 2546) on :
Judy, Do you have cable service in your area? I've had cable phone service for the last several years. It cut my phone bill in half and the quality is just as good. If the power goes out, there's a battery back-up in the modem that lasts for about 10 hours (or so they say.)
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