E-mail, chat, & VoIP : The companies that CNet promotes.
The companies that CNet promotes.
by qwondre - 3/1/05 10:57 AMHi, I recently was looking at hooking up voip and I went to a cnet site that compared different companies(Vonage, RyanTech, and one other were the top three), and after finding that Vonage did NOT have my complete area code covered, I decided to try RyanTech. So I signed up through the cnet site and when I went back to the comparison site, RyanTech isnt even on the chart anymore, it just shows Vonage and the other company(I cant remember the name). What gives? What does it cost companies to get a good rating here?
As you can see. . .
by Coryphaeus - 3/2/05 4:53 PM In reply to: The companies that CNet promotes. by qwondreVoIP is still out in the back forty. I wouldn't touch it for several reasons.
First one you are experiencing.
Incomplete coverage.
Broadband connection a must, and no down time.
Power failure = no service.
Their server down = no service.
High server load = lousy service.
I've yet to figure why anyone would want this service because it is so spotty, and the telephone is always there. Sorry, I didn't answer your question, but you really need to weigh the pros and cons before trying to get this service to work.
Yeah, I see.........
by qwondre - 3/2/05 11:41 PM In reply to: As you can see. . . by CoryphaeusYeah, I see that voip is just ramping up- I think its going to draw alot of people to it- from both sides- to make money and to save money. Im greatly attracted to it, but I have noticed that it is still incomplete. The one thing that I am so tired of, though, is paying $50, month in and month out just to have conectivity, for a device that I dont use much. I did find a company that has my area code for me to keep, which I want to do. And for $15 a month, I'll go without 911 service. Thanks for your reply
Fun with VOIP users...
by R. Proffitt
- 3/3/05 6:19 AM
In reply to: Yeah, I see......... by qwondre
From http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1753984,00.asp
"Phone rings.
ME: Hello?
Caller: Is this John Dvorak?
ME: Yes.
Caller: …I, I'm Clyde Dunm… calling for Wlfen Comp.
ME: What?
Caller: Hi, I'm Clyde Dunn, calling for Wolren Computer.
ME: Hi,
Caller: ……
ME: Hello?
Caller: Yes.
ME: What?
Caller: Did you get the sample we sent you?
ME: What was it?
Caller: A
ME: A what? Are you on one of those Internet phones?
Caller: Yes, why?
ME: Call me on a real phone and I'll tell you."
Yeah, I still see.......
by qwondre - 3/3/05 8:42 AM In reply to: Fun with VOIP users... by R. Proffitt
Yeah I see that there may be some problems with voip, but at least I did check out my connectivity before jumping to voip. Every test I could find placed me at or above a T1 line. Wheather or not that is a reliable benchmark or not, I dont know, but that was a big consideration for me to try voip.
I did find out today that Ryan Tech Inc. is just a reseller of Nuvio, which I did'nt know until today. That brings up a big peeve of mine. Why is nothing ever dated? The site that you gave a link to, showing that whole article- when was it written? This year? Last year? Who knows? I sure dont. Same way with finding Ryan Tech as a reseller, the CNet site that they appeared on had no date and when I went back to the site on the same day, they were no where to be seen.
Anyway, thanks so much for your reply.
VoIP is the way to go.....
by scottish_warrior - 3/3/05 4:27 PM In reply to: Yeah, I still see....... by qwondreI've also been looking at VoIP for some time. Most of my calling is either local or International. The rates for International calls are excellent from a host of provider’s packet8 and lingo seem to be some of the best plans. The features VoIP have like virtual numbers where I can have my virtual number in London and dial it as a local call would save me so much money. I still have not jumped into yet but over the past year so many of the issues like 911 have been resolved that I think I'll try it.
One site I found that I use a lot now is www.whichvoip.com they have a decent number of Service providers and have a simple search to narrow your choice of plan. But one of the best things about them is that they have a list of features for all their plans - it's a nightmare trying to find all the features in the service provider’s web site.
Anyway didn’t mean to ramble so much any pointers or experience with VoIP SP's would be welcome.
Thanks
Comparisions
by qwondre - 3/3/05 8:14 PM In reply to: VoIP is the way to go..... by scottish_warriorYeah, that is a good site to use to compare, I wish I would have looked around a little bit more. The company that I chose does not have 911 available, except for the highest tiers of membership. Oh well, we will see how this turns out. Thanks again for the geat site.
I use AT&T Broadband Phone
by Tom Aikman - 3/4/05 6:13 PM In reply to: Comparisions by qwondreIt works very well. A few issues here and there but nothing major. 911 is included.
VOIP, Still in the Back 40?
by droy99 - 3/8/05 7:35 PM In reply to: As you can see. . . by CoryphaeusWhile I do agree that the broadband connection does have to be up in order to have service and a power failure is a problem, I don't understand your other 2 issues.
Maybe I just haven't had the service long enough yet, but, Incomplete coverage, HMMMMMMM! I have made many calls and have never experienced a call that wasn't covered.
As far as high load times, it's certainly a possibility, but, I haven't experienced that yet either.
Now, yes, there are the 2 cons mentioned above. However, I feel, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.
The first and most obvious thing is the amount of money most people will save.
I can take my VOIP anywhere there is a broadband connection available, plug it in, and, just like that, people can call my home number and reach me wherever I might be! Try that with regular phone service. Yes, a cell phone will do the same thing, but, this is cheaper!
Also, while cell phone numbers can now be ported to other carriers, it isn't yet true for standard wired phones. With VOIP, the phone number is good anywhere.
There are other advantages, so, to me, the possibility of loosing power once every few years is a miner inconvenience.
Yes, the cable connection goes down about once a year for a small interval of time, no big deal!
Now that I said this, I might have pushed my luck.
Anyway, I think, you get my point.
Power failure?
by qwondre - 3/9/05 6:44 AM In reply to: VOIP, Still in the Back 40? by droy99After about two weeks of use, I have had few problems with my service- initially, the volume on my voice mail was faint, but that has cleared up, and I still may have to adjust the time between ringing and answering to voice mail.
The thing I'm not sure about is if I lose power, will I have to reset everything? You know, modem, adapter, etc? I dont believe that I've read about that in the manual. I'm sure I'll find out eventually.
One other thing, I doubt if I can keep my calling to the lowest price level since I am calling more at this low price.
No resetting of anything...
by denhouse - 10/23/05 7:15 AM In reply to: Power failure? by qwondreI have been using AT&T's VOIP service (CallVantage) for over a year now with two differnt routers and have had no power related issues. I live in the mid-west where the power will go off and on from time to time due to weather related issues. Each time the power comes back on, I do not have to reset anything.
One piece of advice: if you have the AT&T service, get the Linksys router, every thing is built in. With the D-Link router, it is another piece of hardware that everyting has to pass through and it does not handle the "voice packets" as well as the Linksys. For example when I had the D-Link router, if I was downloading a file and I got a phone call it would sound like a bad cell-phone connection; if it got through at all. With the Linksys router, I can download a file and there are no problems.
Good luck to all.
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