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Ted Leung on the air: Open Source, Java, Python, and ...
Mon, 10 Apr 2006
Vonage?
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I have a second telephone line which I am paying way too much for. For several months I've been meaning to do something about it, and I think I'm piling up enough momentum to do something about this. From what I can tell, the folk who read this blog are pretty technically savvy, so I'd like to know whether you are using Vonage (or a similar service), what your experience has been, and what your recommendations would be in terms of provider, plan, hardware, hacks, etc.
Here are some things that are important to me:
- VoiceMail as E-Mail - I am horrible at returning voicemail - I hate the phone pad interface to voicemail, and I want to manipulate that stuff from my computer.
- Caller ID - So I don't have to talk to spammers, I mean, telemarketers
- Call Forwarding that tries a list of alternate phone numbers before dumping to voice mail, and the ability to turn this on from a web page - I always forget to forward my phone
- The ability to dial phone numbers from my computer - that means a Mac.
- Cost of the service is a factor, and free long distance is pretty much mandatory
- I want a solution that doesn't tie up my computer or that will degrade because I've got both cores in the MacBook Pro maxxed out doing compiles, running tests, or rendering in Aperture.
- Ability to keep my existing phone number
What are you using and why?
I'm using Digitalrealm. The pricing and features are excellent. All of the features you are looking for are available except PC dialing. Included in the price are Caller ID, anonymous call block, simultaneous ring, web interface for calling features, voice mail and free long distance. This company sends an email with a wav file containing the voicemail. One of the best features is the ability to create a list of phone numbers which get "special" handling. I use it to block telemarketers that send Caller ID data. They get a busy signal once blocked.
I think Voip uses 90K of bandwidth up and down. This will test your connection: http://www.testyourvoip.com
You will also need to enable Qoss on your router. I had voice quality problems without it when my internet load was high. Proximity to your router is also a concern. You get an ATA with your service that has to be connected to your router and telephone. You can connect it wirelessly but I prefer wired (ethernet). If I recall your setup, you'll need a cordless phone or an extra ethernet port in your office.
Posted by Dan Leung at Mon Apr 10 03:47:56 2006
I think Voip uses 90K of bandwidth up and down. This will test your connection: http://www.testyourvoip.com
You will also need to enable Qoss on your router. I had voice quality problems without it when my internet load was high. Proximity to your router is also a concern. You get an ATA with your service that has to be connected to your router and telephone. You can connect it wirelessly but I prefer wired (ethernet). If I recall your setup, you'll need a cordless phone or an extra ethernet port in your office.
Posted by Dan Leung at Mon Apr 10 03:47:56 2006
I've been using Vonage for a while now and I'm happy with their service. Vonage has all the features you list, though calling from your laptop is an extra service called SoftPhone.
I selected Vonage because I wanted no-fuss VOIP. If you have your own equipment you can probably get a better deal, but Vonage works right out of the box. It's established, stable, and simple, all of which were important to me.
Posted by J Aaron Farr at Mon Apr 10 05:34:43 2006
I selected Vonage because I wanted no-fuss VOIP. If you have your own equipment you can probably get a better deal, but Vonage works right out of the box. It's established, stable, and simple, all of which were important to me.
Posted by J Aaron Farr at Mon Apr 10 05:34:43 2006
I also use Vonage. J Aaron Farr said it all above, so I won't repeat that. Vonage has been very nice to me. One of the killer features for me has been "SimulRing" which lets people call my main phone but have it also ring my emergency-only cell phone.
Posted by Matthew O'Connor at Mon Apr 10 06:52:43 2006
Posted by Matthew O'Connor at Mon Apr 10 06:52:43 2006
I had Vonage, but wouldn't go back to using it. I personally don't like the fact that they send out a locked router and expect me to use it as my base firewall and NAT box. They do this to ensure network QOS service level performance on your network. I'm intelligent enough to use the QOS features on my router to figure this stuff out. All I wanted was a box that accepted their VoIP connection and converted it to POTS. They do not offer such a service or hardware.
Regardless, even when I used their router, there was a noticable lag in the conversation. Also, at the time, their enhanced-911 service still wasn't operational. Perhaps that's changed. For now, our cell phones are sufficient.
Posted by Chad Walstrom at Mon Apr 10 10:10:42 2006
Regardless, even when I used their router, there was a noticable lag in the conversation. Also, at the time, their enhanced-911 service still wasn't operational. Perhaps that's changed. For now, our cell phones are sufficient.
Posted by Chad Walstrom at Mon Apr 10 10:10:42 2006
Ted,
I like Vonage and it hasn't given me any problems, except for very rare quality issues (actually, only with one person, which makes me question whether it's him or me...)
One thing I don't like: If you want a softphone, you have to get another phone number. If you want a VOIP wireless, it's another phone number. I want all these things, but not seperate phone numbers/accounts!
Chad, Maybe they've changed things now, but the router I received like 1 year ago wasn't locked down like you say - just the VOIP stuff was locked down. Everything else was configgable, allowing me to have the vonage router behind two others.
Bobby
Posted by Bobby Rullo at Mon Apr 10 10:29:20 2006
I like Vonage and it hasn't given me any problems, except for very rare quality issues (actually, only with one person, which makes me question whether it's him or me...)
One thing I don't like: If you want a softphone, you have to get another phone number. If you want a VOIP wireless, it's another phone number. I want all these things, but not seperate phone numbers/accounts!
Chad, Maybe they've changed things now, but the router I received like 1 year ago wasn't locked down like you say - just the VOIP stuff was locked down. Everything else was configgable, allowing me to have the vonage router behind two others.
Bobby
Posted by Bobby Rullo at Mon Apr 10 10:29:20 2006
There's a local company called GotVoice.com in Kirkland. They auto check your VM, download it, and offer to send it in email. They just added Vonage support. No more tweaking with the lousy VM prompts...
Posted by myko at Mon Apr 10 10:44:42 2006
Posted by myko at Mon Apr 10 10:44:42 2006
I dumped all of my landlines over 3 years ago. Cable modem/wireless and cell-phone for me. Faster, cheaper, one phone number everywhere, all-wireless, and I don't have to deal with the phone company nor with telemarketers.
Posted by Doug at Mon Apr 10 10:45:51 2006
Posted by Doug at Mon Apr 10 10:45:51 2006
Vonage have the most annoying commercial jingle I've ever heard in my life. Don't reward that!
:-/
Posted by Doug L. at Mon Apr 10 11:12:11 2006
:-/
Posted by Doug L. at Mon Apr 10 11:12:11 2006
i agree I was paying over 100 a month on phone service now all i spend is 30 a month with Vonage a great service would reccommend it to anyone.
Posted by Stephanie at Mon Apr 10 18:48:58 2006
Posted by Stephanie at Mon Apr 10 18:48:58 2006
I have vonage and I am quite please. A friend told me about Broadvoice; they are slightly cheaper and actually have instructions on how to setup Asterisk.
Posted by Ryan at Mon Apr 10 19:34:59 2006
Posted by Ryan at Mon Apr 10 19:34:59 2006
FYI, Speakeasy.net have a combined DSL-VoIP deal that looks pretty attractive. I've been wanting to get away from Qwest and am going to move at least my DSL to them; still undecided if I really want to give up my only landline.
Posted by Maarten at Tue Apr 11 11:28:16 2006
Posted by Maarten at Tue Apr 11 11:28:16 2006
CallerID Monitor has its own built-in Address Book that will keep your contacts in one place and always easy available. It allows you to enter more then 50 different informations per contact including contact personal info, company info, up to 8 phone numbers, internet related informations, contact notes or description... Your contacts in Address Book can be easily organized in groups of your choice. Organize your contacts in groups like "Family", "Friends" or "Business" for easy navigation.
http://www.yaodownload.com/internet-tools/communications/callerid-monitor/
Posted by tom at Mon Apr 24 01:23:23 2006
http://www.yaodownload.com/internet-tools/communications/callerid-monitor/
Posted by tom at Mon Apr 24 01:23:23 2006
I have recently signed on with Vonage, as of now I am terribly dissapointed with their service representatives.
It seems that to sign on, they are more than eager to answer the phone, as well as any question or concern you have.
Once signed up with them, it is a different story, so far I have been on the phone with them for over six hours and have been passed from one person to another without getting anything accomplished.
It may not be a bad to idea to pay a little more for service, if indeed one is getting the service.
Posted by Lee at Mon Apr 24 10:04:05 2006
It seems that to sign on, they are more than eager to answer the phone, as well as any question or concern you have.
Once signed up with them, it is a different story, so far I have been on the phone with them for over six hours and have been passed from one person to another without getting anything accomplished.
It may not be a bad to idea to pay a little more for service, if indeed one is getting the service.
Posted by Lee at Mon Apr 24 10:04:05 2006
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