unlimited Long Distance calls throughout the U.S. Canada, and Puerto Rico, and Parts of Europe,
3-Way Calling
Call forwarding
Voice Msil
and all for just $24.99a month.
It’s soooooooooooo simple!
"Vonage," the ad says “connects your high speed internet with your phone.” And the accompanying graphic shows a phone connecting to a thing that looks very much like the DSL modem that AT&T gave me to connect to their DSL network.
However, I have a sneaking suspicion that AT&T isn’t going to let me drop them for Vonage, and at the same time let me keep my DSL connection. I think the first sound I’d hear is the SNAP! when the Phone company cuts it.
So in reality, what does Vonage get me - a Stone AGe dial up internet/phone combo account?
No no no. Vonage is a phone that works over the internet. You MUST already have broadband to have Vonage. What you would have to do in your case would be to see if you can get so called “Naked DSL” which is DSL but no phone and then get your phone from Vonage. It would probably cost more. A better idea would be to see how much it would cost to get internet/cable/phone bundle from your cable provider and then see how much it would save to get just cable and internet from the cable co and your phone though Vonage.
Oh, and if you use less then 500 minutes a month on your phone, they have a cheaper plan. And when I quit using them they offered me an even cheaper plan for 100 minutes per month (but that’s not advertised AFAIK).
Not knowing your ISP connection details, I can’t answer your specific problem. I can, however, offer you what I have noticed from a co-worker of mine.
He has phone over IP, though not Vonage, and cable internet. The call clarity is great, and he still has excellent connectivity and speed over his connection.
He also likes having the ability to check his messages online, and is able to have the systems phonebook take priority over the standard caller ID. So he can have his mom show up as MOM instead of her actual name.
If I had more information I’d surely give it to you.
Oooh, one thing to add, if this phone may be needed for an emergency (we got our because at the time our cell phones got shoddy reception at our house and my wife was pregnant) you’ll want a battery backup that you will use to keep your vonage phone box, modem and router live if the power goes out. Otherwise you got no phone.
Consider your suspicion allayed. You can get DSL service from AT&T without phone service from them.
Nothing of the sort. Your Vonage adapter goes with you-- so if you’re traveling, you can essentially bring your phone line with you. You’ll still need a telephone, of course.
That all depends on what you consider better or worse.
The telcos charge a lot for their service. Here in Los Angeles, a basic unmetered telephone line (the most basic line possible) costs about $12/month (AT&T) or $20/month (Verizon).
Never mind the nickel-and-diming for features such as Caller ID ($5/month), 3-way calling ($3.75/month), Remote Call Forwarding ($2.50/month), unlisted number ($1/month), Blocked Number Rejection ($2/month) and so on. Then you get to pay for toll calls and long distance.
I use AT&T naked DSL with Vonage as other posters have described.
I pay exactly $45 per month for naked DSL from AT&T. Interestingly, there are no additional fees or taxes that I used to pay when I actually had a phone line through them.
I pay $25 per month for Vonage, which includes unlimited long distance and all the other features I use (call forwarding, voice mail that can be sent in emails, etc). I have been exceptionally impressed with the service from Vonage: their web site makes it very easy to setup the phone to work exactly how I want it, and there are many options (forward to different phone if not answered after 15 seconds, or simultaneously ringing on another phone, etc).
Their customer service has impressed me too: when I took a while before initially setting it up because I was traveling they proactively called me to check if everything was okay and if I needed any assistance making it work. When I did get a chance to set it up it was as easy as plugging it in and having it start working. This is so out of place compared to the horrifying incompetence experienced when attempting to setup AT&T DSL or Comcast Cable Internet it is hard not to be impressed!
There is another benefit too - you don’t have to choose a telephone number geographically linked to where you are - I work from home for an out of state company so I chose my area code to correspond to their location.
It wouldn’t have helped your situation when you had lousy cellphone reception, but with Vonage you would typically setup a phone number that your calls will go to if your internet connection is down. This means that I am not solely reliant on my internet connection. So far I haven’t had to use this, but it is good to know.
I’ve been using Vonage for years now and I love it.
We have a virtual number in the States and our local Canada number. The virtual number costs us about $5 a month but all our friends and family in the states can use it to avoid international rates on their phone bills.
I love that I can call pretty much anywhere and not worry about long distance charges. I can talk for hours with a friend in Ireland and it doesn’t cost me anything more.
I also have a mobile phone. In the rare event our cable internet is down all calls are automatically forwarded to the mobile.
And, I’ve never really had a problem with them. The service works really well (as long as your internet service works well).
The reason we use it is we live in Japan, and it allows us to have an Arkansas phone number. This is much, much more convenient for our families to call us, and much cheaper.
However, I believe majicjack does basically the same thing for a lot less money ($40 for the equipment and first year, $20 for the second year). If they would let me transfer my vonage number (a feature apparently coming soon) I’d switch.
Not anymore in most places. When VOIP first became popular a lot of folks were left without phone service after a windstorm cause widespread power outages in my state. Shortly after that the State Utilities Commission required the VOIP service providers to power the phone from their end, just like regular phone companies. Shortly after this I started using VIOP and my phone always worked during power outages. Many other states now have the same requirement.
BTW, if you want to go really cheap, try MagicJack. Only $20 a year and all the features of higher priced phone service. Because it goes through your computer, it must be on for your phone to work. It’s my only landline phone and I have no complaints.
How would that even work?
To keep VOIP up and running, you have to keep live, a DSL or cable modem, the VOIP box and (unless the voip box is the only thing in the house using the internet) a router. How can VOIP provide power for all that?
Yup, call them up and use a new thing called LNP, Local Number Portability. Which means you can move your phone number from one carrier to another. IOW if you were to leave AT&T, they have to let you take your number with you.
Should be. Remember though, it will only be as stable as your internet connection. If your internet connection is flakey, this will be as well. When I had mine, I did have the occasional problem with it that required me to go and power cycle the Vonage box, but that happened maybe once a month at the very most.
No. Your Vonage phone will be as reliable as your DSL was before.
Which means any time your house electricity goes out, so does your DSL modem & hence your Vonage phone. And any time the DSL goes down from their end, so does your DSL access & your Vonage phone.
Only you know how reliable those things are in your case. But at least now you know the issues.
Couple-three years ago, I connected a Radio Shack cheapo phone to a phone jack. If I remember correctly it works on the rare occasions when we lose power.
Just checked for a dial tone. Still working.
BTW I took the DSL Speed test at the Vonage website
Right, but that’s phone service. The phone line and the phone handset are powered by the phone company, so even if the power goes out, the phone works. But DSL, even though it comes through the same set of wires, requires power in your house to work - specifically the DSL modem and the router need good old 110V AC from you to operate. If you’re worried about power outages, you can certainly buy a battery backup reasonably cheaply (< $100).
Another thing to be aware of with Vonage is 911 service. There was a big fooferah about this a few years ago when it was found that a 911 call didn’t go to your local emergency service location, but it seems they’ve ironed this out. But if E911, where the operator gets your address as soon as you dial so they can send someone even if you can’t speak, is important to you, you should confirm that they have it in your location before you switch.