Shop RadioShack for Great Gifts
Broadband: Poll: Do you use VoIP service at home?
- 10/18/07 4:56 PM
yes, but I don't recommend it.
by thegpo - 10/19/07 10:23 PM In reply to: Poll: Do you use VoIP service at home? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I have used Skype for about a year. It was early days, it improved and now it it deteriorating again. Calls crash, but mostly it is the delays, the missing words that make it frustrating. Forget video. It is cheap, that is the only attraction. I am considering taking a long distance plan out again with Telus. No matter what the price, it is a waste of money if you can not carry on a conversation.
Yes, but I'm switching back to a land line.
by rednorsk - 10/19/07 11:50 PM In reply to: Poll: Do you use VoIP service at home? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I use Comcast's VoIP phone service. It's been a good value and the call quality is good. (I used a cheap VoIP service called ITP before and the call quality was crap.) The one problem I have with VoIP is a DEAL BREAKER though: if the cable OR power go out... so does the phone! Recently the cable went out after a small storm- and all the services bundled with it (internet and phone). Cable TV and internet are back but we've been w/o phone service for DAYS. We live in one of those little valleys that gets ZERO cell phone signal, so we're SOL if there's an emergency. Plus the fact that it's damn inconvenient not being able to make or receive any calls from home. For me... reliability trumps cheap. I'm going back to a good old fashioned land line.
VoIP
by vitasx - 10/20/07 1:32 AM In reply to: Poll: Do you use VoIP service at home? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
i have never herd the term VoIP before but how does Skype works whitch i use especialy for international calls
VOIP Is Great. It is the old phone service with much more.
by howardjs01 - 10/20/07 1:34 AM In reply to: Poll: Do you use VoIP service at home? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I have VOIP from Lingo. The quality is excellent, much better than my land line. And the cost is about half of the cost of my land line, but I get FREE UNLIMITED calling Europe and North America. Voice mails can be retrieved the old fashioned way but I also get them as email attachments making retrieval easy. The best of all is that when I stay in Europe, I just plug the little box in and plug my phone into it and I have the same service and phone number. Everybody can reach me as if I were home in the States, and I still have the low cost service. I have traveled and worked around the world for years, and this VOIP is really a new product/service as far as I am concerned and it enables my life style. And I never have reboot or other problems.
Love it!
by mhill354 - 10/20/07 2:40 AM In reply to: Poll: Do you use VoIP service at home? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I have Time Warner/Road Runner service which allows me to make unlimited calls to anywhere in the US and Canada. No more being annoyed that being on hold is costing me money...just time. Don't have to track minutes, have a predictable phone bill, comes with caller ID, etc.
The quality has been great with no one complaining of any interference or echo. I have phones from the basement to the 2nd story bedrooms. I only use my cell phone at home for power outages which are infrequent and brief (maybe a couple of times a year). I dislike having to carry a phone around with me when at home and find the digital phone sevice an asset. I save the cell minutes for when I'm out and/or using VZ Navigator.
Only caution as far as I'm concerned is a power outage if someone has poor health. If you don't have a cell service, probably should have a cheap thow away cell phone as a back up. For me, the odds of needing emergeny care during one of the extremely rare period that the cable/electric is down, are extremely slim.
Cheap cell as back up
by howardjs01 - 10/20/07 7:00 AM In reply to: Love it! by mhill354Excellent and cost effective suggestion.
Love it and left it for better bundle deal
by fosterbraun - 10/20/07 3:23 AM In reply to: Poll: Do you use VoIP service at home? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I was with AT&T Callvantage for two years and loved the rate ($35/month) all you can talk, local, long distance & Canada. However, I went through the annoyance of losing Internet connections and having to register the E911, a minor but frequent annoyance. The straw that broke the camel's back was when we lost our Comcast Cable connection during a nasty storm that blew the line right off the pole. No Internet, no phone, no alternative but cell.
About that time we switched to AT&T wireless for rates and phone selection and found that if we went back with AT&T POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) that we could get a break on both with a bundled service. The result is that:
a.) Our phones are no longer a periodic "issue" although that line could also be blown down but won't need to be reconnected periodically.
b.) While paying a difference of about $25 more /month, I have also been able to lower my wireless rate by a small percent as well.
I would like to salute Watzman for a superb answer to the original question. He/she was both succinct and yet thorough enough to answer a lot of people's question. I have visited many forums and listened to a lot of computer shows on radio and podcasts (I do one myself: www.internetadvisor.net) and he is one of the best. Kudos
Voip et al!
by risibilis - 10/20/07 4:38 AM In reply to: Poll: Do you use VoIP service at home? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Using a voip service isn't an 'either or' situation. I'm based in the UK where landline prices range from next to nothing to exorbitant charges that are pure greed.
I use voip for free international calls from my computer to almost any other pc; I use more than one voip provider, one of whom offers FREE worldwide sms. For a relatively small charge (approx US$1.50 per week) I can also phone landlines in many countries globally. The reception, for me, is always good to excellent and I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't try voip as it's a small download and as free as you like!
It's also helping to breakdown the greedy monopoly that corporations are desperately trying to hang on to in various places worldwide.
MS
Glasgow.
VOIP can be a great deal!
by averla - 10/20/07 5:16 AM In reply to: Poll: Do you use VoIP service at home? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I've been using Vonage for years, migrating over cable, DSL, & optical cable DSL internet providers
Can & does work well, and is an excellent value, with excellent support.
But quality ultimately depends on the broadband connection which depends on the IP and traffic from time-to-time.
In the case of TW cable, after 2 years, the connection suddenly deteriorated, and the IP could not/would not correct the problem. Finally they offered their own new, VOIP service (surprise!), which they described as having "priority" on their servers and thus superior, albeit at 3 times the price, for less service. (Is this a level Internet, or what?) I chose to drop TW cable instead; saved my Vonage VOIP & $10/month.
Recently switched to optical cable DSL, dropped my landline, gained 500kbps and saved another $25/month.
Use free services like testmyvoip.net to evaluate your connection before and after you sign-up for VOIP, then enjoy your phone again.
ATT optical cable (3Mbps/1Mbps for $3o/mn) & Vonage (limited minutes, less than $20/mn) seems like the best quality at the best price.
Use VOIP and Love It.
by larryd22 - 10/20/07 6:08 AM In reply to: Poll: Do you use VoIP service at home? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I recently retired from a major corporation as an IT Professional, specializing in Telecommunications. Since I worked from my home office prior to leaving, I was part of a pilot program comparing AT&T CallVantage and Vonage. I selected AT&T CallVantage and it was great. I used it for all of my business calls, while maintaining a traditional land line for personal use. Upon retirement, I switched my personal phone service to Verizon VoiceWing. While not as feature rich as AT&T, the Verizon service is very satisfactory. The quality is excellent and the customer service is great. Since the voice is packetized the same as data, one consideration is bandwidth. Too low a bandwidth can affect voice quality, due to drop outs. I have Verizon FIOS with 15Meg upload and 2Meg download.
Yes, but I would rather use my cell phone
by dreadpoet - 10/20/07 6:36 AM In reply to: Poll: Do you use VoIP service at home? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I use the Time Warner VOip. It works well and TWC includes a backup battery in the modem in case of a power failure. I also have a 750 watt APC battery backup. The only reason I got the VOip is because my home is in a dead spot for my cell phone,other wise I wouldn't use it at all. My problem is that I am living in Arlington Texas ,but all my freinds and family live in Dallas. In order for them ro call me they have to call collect because TWC doesn't offer an 800 number like ATT
Akintundef
VoIP on the road
by floyd_ojai - 10/20/07 6:45 AM In reply to: Poll: Do you use VoIP service at home? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
My use of VoIP is twofold...
One, with friends that share the same software. Phone calls and video conferences are free.
Second, when on the road and I need to make call out of the country. I put on a headset and call much cheaper than land lines or mobile. Really helps a lot when I am traveling abroad. AND, I get to see my familiy.
RE:Do you use VoIP service at home?
by Doug Woodall - 10/20/07 7:05 AM In reply to: Poll: Do you use VoIP service at home? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Our Comcast service is to unreliable to even consider it. A hard line is almost always there for me.
Vonage VoIP user
by anthony.schrouf - 10/20/07 7:08 AM In reply to: Poll: Do you use VoIP service at home? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I have been using Vonage for 30 months and have only had one problem. the Vonage phone box/router went sour and Vonage sent me a new one that I have been using for the last 29 months(so much for Quality Control). I have great reception, sound quality, and voicemail delivery. I have found that MANY times the QUALITY/TYPE of phone used comes into play quite often. I have a Panasonic 2.4GHz and do not have any troubles. I have a friend who has a Uniden 5.8GHz and he has some ongoing minor problems.
The bottom line is that you NEED to see(on the phone model you are thinking of buying) WHERE the uunit is produced! My unit is not made in China and I do not have problems, whereas my friend's unit is made in China. Oh well, c'est la vie.
I hope this helps someone and they enjoy the service and savings over AT&T as much as I have.
Tony
VoIP - highly satisfied!
by wnpierce - 10/20/07 7:13 AM In reply to: Poll: Do you use VoIP service at home? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I am on my third VoIP provider. I initially tried Vonage and after two months dropped it due poor reliability. I moved to Comcast, who was my broadbrand provider at the time. Thier service was outstanding, albeit a little pricey considering the competition. When Verizon came into our neighborhood offering their Fios service I dropped Comcast and moved to Verizon's VoIp service - Voice Wing. It was a little challenging to get the service since Verizon really pushes their landland service. But after reaching the right number I was able to get their VoIp service, which I have had for almost a year. I've been very satisfied and pleased that I don't have to pay the $10+ per month in additional federal and state taxes associated with land line service.
| Forum legend: | |
 |
Locked thread |
 |
Moderator |
 |
CNET staff |
 |
Samsung staff |
 |
Norton Authorized Support team |
 |
AVG staff |
 |
Windows Outreach team |
 |
Dell staff |
 |
Intel staff |
