VOIP

[catnip]

I seem to be hearing a lot about Voice Over Internet Protocol lately. The news reports that I heard weren't too clear about this technology and whether its considerable savings are available to most consumers. Is it more something that is only accessible to big telecom businesses, and where is VOIP heading?

 

Thanks,

[theDCeBOY]

i have it. go to http://www.vonage.com

[Luv2play]

There have been some reports on Internet telecom services on TV and radio recently and with AT&T getting into the fray this last week, it seems to be something whose time has come. I have the impression it is limited at this time to companies like Time Warner who have cable networks that can handle telephone calls (local and long distance) with this new technology (well, no so new but newly applied). It is also available I understand from phone companies that offer broadband service. Some companies are just offering it on a trial basis in selected markets.

 

This is really exciting and all the implications are not yet known. For instance, these services fall outside the existing jurisdiction of the FCC. Also, they are not subject to regular telecom taxes and therefore offer cheaper telephone services. How long this lasts is anyone's guess! LOL

[eastbayguy]

I have Vonage too. The service is good, and I make 95% of my personal long distance calls over it. But, all you need is a lot of packet loss or some other Internet disturbance, and your call can go bezerk. So, I still make most of my business calls over my POTS line using good old wired service. Most of the time, the voice quality is quite good. But, when trouble hits, your service is usually fully down.

 

One thing to be aware of is the effect of power outages. If your power is off, you can't make calls at all. Also, 911 service can be flakey.

 

Number porting seems to take forever. I ordered my number moved on October 3rd, and it still isn't done. The Vonage number porting department seems "disorganized" at best. (I used to be EVP for Operations at a major carrier, so I have a bit of familiarity and a strong frame of reference.)

 

I did learn from my inside sources that Vonage tries to negotiate placement of certain equipment within ISP networks. That way, your call does not have far to travel to reach a Vonage termination point. I won't bore you all with the details. Vonage does seem very committed to building a reliable network capable of delivering excellent service and also to keeping the price competitive.

 

One fun thing is Stupid Phone Tricks. A couple of my friends pay strict attention to caller ID. So, I have a couple of virtual phone numbers from far away places and use them with great effect to confound certain friends. One always gets through because it is from New York City, in the 212 area code no less.

 

There is a VERY generous referral program. Both the referrer and referred get a free month of service. If you'd like to be referred, I'll graciously volunteer. Worst case scenario, Ethan and I can wrestle over who gets to do the referring.

 

--EBG

[eastbayguy]

>There have been some reports on Internet telecom services on

>TV and radio recently and with AT&T getting into the fray this

>last week, it seems to be something whose time has come. I

>have the impression it is limited at this time to companies

>like Time Warner who have cable networks that can handle

>telephone calls (local and long distance) with this new

>technology (well, no so new but newly applied). It is also

>available I understand from phone companies that offer

>broadband service. Some companies are just offering it on a

>trial basis in selected markets.

 

If you have a broadband (cable modem, DSL, T1, T3 or whatever) connection to the Internet, you can buy service from Vonage or someone like them. Vonage is defintely worth a peek. Pretty clever. One of those obvious things you wish you'd thought of yourself.

 

--EBG

[dannynyc]

I recently subscribed to Vonage. I am very happy with the service and the tech support the company provides.

 

Before subscribing to Vonage I did try Packet8. One large disadvantage was Packet8 does not support fax or modem transmissions.

 

After trying the two services, people I call have told me calls on Vonage are much clearer than those on Packet8.

 

The adapter that Vonage sent me has two ethernet ports. One port can be attached to the DSL / cable modem, and the second port can be attached to the local PC. This means the subscriber doesn't need to have a separate router to use the Vonage adapter.

 

I live in NYC and my family is in Ohio. If they did have a broadband service, I'd be able to take the Vonage unit to Ohio and call people in NYC without paying toll calls. I've read several techy articles about business people using a Vonage unit in hotel rooms to make phone calls and avoid hotel phone charges.

 

I've also asked Vonage to move my previous number to the Vonage account. When this is done, I plan to get a basic Verizon account, just in case of emergency. (If the power goes out or if there is a cable modem problem, the Vonage unit will not work.) The combined cost of a Vonage account and a basic Verizon account will be less than what I'm paying to Verizon now, and, I'll still have all the extras I have with Verizon (Caller ID, Voicemail, Three way calling, etc.)

 

It's a new technology with some glitches, but, the glitches are seemingly few, and I really like the Vonage service.

[Luv2play]

I don't have this service but from what I understand from the media reports, reliability of transmission of communication is a problem as it is subject to Internet problems. But it is a wired service. Transmission occurs either over cables or telephone wires, not wireless. But your point about maintaining a standard telephone link for essential business communication would make sense to many business people. Apparently, some 4 million people are already using VOIP. I just think we are on the threshold of another communication revolution.

[Guest MrDick]

I have been a Vonage customer now for a year. Have never had any transmission quality problems. While it is true that if your internet connection goes down, so does your phone service, a feature in Vonage automatically detects that and transfers the call to another number (in my case, my cell phone, where the audio transmision is not anywhere near as good as I get from Vonage and my cable modem). No longer have a land line and don't seem to miss it.

[catnip]

Thanks, everyone -