# What does Vonage actually do for me? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 8, 2009, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-vonage-actually-do-for-me/480330 "2009-01-08T03:38:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-vonage-actually-do-for-me/480330/21 "2009-01-08T15:13:50Z")
I ditched my landline about five or six years ago and went with Vonage. I have no complaints. Back then, phone numbers weren’t so portable, so we had to get a different phone number. We initially had cable internet service, but a couple of years ago we switched to Verizon Fios and that works well too. I am paying $35 a month to Verizon for internet, $25 to Vonage, and $15 to Time Warner for TV cable. I think I could go down to the cheaper Vonage plan, but I haven’t looked into it yet. Overall, I’m very satisfied. I realize that my satisfaction is dependent on the reliability of my internet connection, but I’m in a location where my internet service almost never goes down. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-vonage-actually-do-for-me/480330/22 "2009-01-08T15:19:40Z")
Vonage very nearly got shut down in 2007 over patent infringement. Has that been resolved? ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-vonage-actually-do-for-me/480330/23 "2009-01-08T15:21:24Z")
We have had Vonage over DSL for several months now, and we’re generally pleased with it. One thing I have noticed, however, is that whenever one of our computers is doing streaming downloads or anything that requires a lot of bandwidth, and we try to use the phone at the same time the signal will break up, and we can’t carry on a conversation. I’ve tried configuring the Vonage modem both on one of the router ports, and also in front of the router, but it doesn’t seem to make any difference. Any suggestions how to fix this problem? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-vonage-actually-do-for-me/480330/24 "2009-01-08T15:40:29Z")
> [@BarnOwl](#): > > Why did you quit Cable? > I think you sort of answered the q in the post before thi. lol I didn’t quit cable, I quit Vonage, still got cable. My issue with Vonage is as follows. When I signed up I got the $14.99 plan for 500 minutes. The first few months I was charge a total of $16.94 (with tax) but as they added taxes and other surcharges it eventually creeped up to $19.28 even though I was still on the $14.99 plan. Recently they announced that the $14.99 plan was changing to a $17.99 plan which means that very least I would be getting charged $22.28 each month. I did the math and realized that in a little over three years the price went up by over 30% which I don’t really consider fair. And since I we only used it for about 10 minutes a month at this point we decided to get rid of it. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-vonage-actually-do-for-me/480330/25 "2009-01-08T15:53:13Z")
We’ve been using Vonage for our _business_ line for several years now, and have virtually no complaints. (Both of us (me and Mrs. Dvl) run a full time consultancy[sup]\*[/sup] out of the home and send/receive lots of national and international calls and faxes. It’s a full-time business, so reliability is extraordinarily important.) > [@Joey\_P](#): > > 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. We’re still chained to a **$30.00** per month land-line charge. Yes, we have e-911, but we also have a house fire/burglar alarm that calls in over the phones. It can technically connect via the Vonage line, but if cable or power goes out (regardless of our in-house UPS), the alarm can’t call out. They do offer cell service backup (in case the phone line goes out), which in theory and a bit of time should make a difference. However, the switch from phone to cell connection works by detecting the voltage coming from the land line. If it drops out, the alarm switches to the cell connection (located in the attic, not tied to our regular cells). The Vonage box (and other VOIPs AFAIK) does not send a continual voltage to the phone, they send signal only when a call comes in. Therefore, the switch wouldn’t know when to be activated. At the time, the possibility of a cell-only alarm was not an option. I even tried searching for a device that would have bridge the two. That is, a box between the alarm and the VOIP that would send constant voltage to the alarm and port calls through the VOIP on one end, and on the other end a regular ping routine determining if the Internet connection was active. If it detected a lack of ping replies, it would cut the voltage triggering the switch. No dice. Is such a box just not technically feasible? Beats me. Anyway, that was our consideration. If not for the alarm, we’d have moved all over to Vonage without any concerns given how successful it has been. [sup]\*Oh shit… does that mean we’re slated for Ark B?[/sup] ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-vonage-actually-do-for-me/480330/26 "2009-01-08T15:58:52Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I didn’t quit cable, I quit Vonage, still got cable. My issue with Vonage is as follows. When I signed up I got the $14.99 plan for 500 minutes. The first few months I was charge a total of $16.94 (with tax) but as they added taxes and other surcharges it eventually creeped up to $19.28 even though I was still on the $14.99 plan. Recently they announced that the $14.99 plan was changing to a $17.99 plan which means that very least I would be getting charged $22.28 each month. I did the math and realized that in a little over three years the price went up by over 30% which I don’t really consider fair. And since I we only used it for about 10 minutes a month at this point we decided to get rid of it. Just surfed a little and already am finding some big time complaints about phone quality, pricing ripoffs, etc. For starters… [http://www.my3cents.com/search.cgi?criteria=Vonage](http://www.my3cents.com/search.cgi?criteria=Vonage) I realize that a company of Vonage;s size will have its share of detractors. To those of you who posted nice things about Vonage, please don’t be angry with me. I’m an old, low tech man and need to get a glitch free, low cost system. Here’s a site of Top 10 Providers. Vonage is included. [http://www.consumervoipreview.com/reviews.html?kw=rvonage&gclid=COCpgMum\_5cCFQG7Ggode16L7A](http://www.consumervoipreview.com/reviews.html?kw=rvonage&gclid=COCpgMum_5cCFQG7Ggode16L7A) Anyone care to comment on or recommend on any of them? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-vonage-actually-do-for-me/480330/27 "2009-01-08T16:16:41Z")
Here’s is my charge for each month. Keep in mind after the inital setup I never added or removed any features and never had more then about 30 minutes or so. Also, even as of the last bill my plan was still billed as $14.99 per month. I canceled just last month when it was going up to $17.99. It was creeping up way to fast. My guess is that 3 years from now my $14.99 plan would probably be closer to $30 dollars or so. For how little I use it and how relible my cell phone now is, it just wasn’t worth it. BUT ignoring the cost, it did work just fine and I had no other issues with it. ```auto 12/14/05 $16.94 01/14/06 $16.94 02/14/06 $16.94 03/14/06 $18.44 04/14/06 $17.42 05/14/06 $18.43 06/14/06 $18.43 07/14/06 $17.92 08/14/06 $17.92 09/14/06 $17.92 10/14/06 $18.82 11/14/06 $18.82 12/14/06 $18.82 01/14/07 $18.84 02/14/07 $18.84 03/14/07 $18.84 04/14/07 $18.93 05/14/07 $18.93 06/14/07 $18.95 07/14/07 $18.95 08/14/07 $19.05 09/14/07 $19.05 10/14/07 $19.09 11/14/07 $19.23 12/14/07 $19.26 01/14/08 $19.26 02/14/08 $19.26 03/14/08 $19.26 04/14/08 $19.26 05/14/08 $19.18 06/14/08 $19.18 07/14/08 $19.05 08/14/08 $19.05 09/14/08 $19.05 10/14/08 $19.28 11/14/08 $19.28 12/14/08 $19.28 ``` ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-vonage-actually-do-for-me/480330/28 "2009-01-08T17:07:36Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > 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. This is hardly a new thing, but definitely a plus. But I might add that this is why my local cable carrier (Cablevision) shoots itself in the foot. They have the nerve to charge $125 to bring your phone number over to their internet phone service. (Vonage does it for free). This charge negates the savings they give you for a year by choosing their so-called triple-play package (cable TV/internet/VOIP). I use them for cable/internet only and use Vonage for phone. If I switched to all Cablevision I’d actually pay more because after the lost savings (due to keeping my number charge) I’d be paying more for their three services because they charge more for their VOIP than Vonage. Lesson from this: read contacts carefully and do your math . ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-vonage-actually-do-for-me/480330/29 "2009-01-08T18:31:12Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > 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? This took some research but I found it. First, federal law requires that 911 service still be available to VOIP users as of November 28, 2005. [Details here](http://www.voip911.gov/). Comcast and Vonage are examples of interconnected VOIP service. What was more difficult to find was how but it is very simple. When the power goes out, a couple of things happen. The first thing is in your modem, the phone jack switches over to a direct connection with the input coax cable. At the other end of the coax cable at the phone company it switches over from digital voice to a regular analog connection. In other words, the coax cables replace the regular solid strand copper wire as the method of provide phone service to your house. Besides the required 911 service, most will also find their phone still works for other calls. In most cases if you cannot make a phone call with VOIP service with the power out, your provider is in violation of the law. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-vonage-actually-do-for-me/480330/30 "2009-01-08T18:49:26Z")
I assume this means that you would have to go and plug the Vonage box directly into the modem as your router wouldn’t work during the outage. Also, I assume cordless phones that use the box as a base wouldn’t work either. But I could be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-vonage-actually-do-for-me/480330/31 "2009-01-08T18:56:50Z")
Question then: What about Skype’s outgoing service? I see boxes at Wally’s World and other places that will allow you to connect Skype to a regular phone. The site is a little confusing, but apparently I can get a plan (unlimited to the USA) with an online phone number for $2.95 per month. Is this right? If so, I’m dumping my home phone today. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-vonage-actually-do-for-me/480330/32 "2009-01-08T19:05:23Z")
> [@racer72](#): > > This took some research but I found it. First, federal law requires that 911 service still be available to VOIP users as of November 28, 2005. [Details here](http://www.voip911.gov/). Comcast and Vonage are examples of interconnected VOIP service. What was more difficult to find was how but it is very simple. When the power goes out, a couple of things happen. The first thing is in your modem, the phone jack switches over to a direct connection with the input coax cable. At the other end of the coax cable at the phone company it switches over from digital voice to a regular analog connection. In other words, the coax cables replace the regular solid strand copper wire as the method of provide phone service to your house. Besides the required 911 service, most will also find their phone still works for other calls. In most cases if you cannot make a phone call with VOIP service with the power out, your provider is in violation of the law. Your link talks about 911 access and capabilities, but nothing about a power outage situation. The problem in the past was that a call to 911 from Vonage wouldn’t go to your local emergency operator, and wouldn’t transmit information about your location. So if you called 911 from home because you were choking and couldn’t clearly describe your location, they had no idea where you were. That’s what that [voip911.gov](http://voip911.gov) website is talking about. And the solution you describe makes no sense. If you’ve got Comcast for your internet over coax, but Vonage phone - how does Comcast know to turn it’s coax connection to you into an analog phone connection? Are you suggesting they do it for all their customers? Cite? ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-vonage-actually-do-for-me/480330/33 "2009-01-08T19:14:04Z")
Too late to edit: From the FCC VoIP [website faq:](http://www.fcc.gov/voip/welcome.html#faqs) > [@](#): > > What Are Some disadvantages of VoIP? > If you’re considering replacing your traditional telephone service with VoIP, there are some possible differences: > > Some VoIP services don’t work during power outages and the service provider may not offer backup power. ---
**Author:** ![Spiny\_Norman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Spiny\_Norman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiny_Norman)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-vonage-actually-do-for-me/480330/34 "2009-01-08T19:46:10Z")
> [@racer72](#): > > This took some research but I found it. First, federal law requires that 911 service still be available to VOIP users as of November 28, 2005. [Details here](http://www.voip911.gov/). Comcast and Vonage are examples of interconnected VOIP service. I think you have two things mixed up. The fact that Vonage etc. are required to provide 911 service (and, if possible, E911) through their networks has no bearing on their obligations during power outages, and your cite provides no indication that this is the case. VOIP works on all broadband technologies, including wireless. > [@](#): > > When the power goes out, a couple of things happen. The first thing is in your modem, the phone jack switches over to a direct connection with the input coax cable. At the other end of the coax cable at the phone company it switches over from digital voice to a regular analog connection. In other words, the coax cables replace the regular solid strand copper wire as the method of provide phone service to your house. I have a hard time making sense of this. As far as I can tell, this would put an obligation on your Internet provider (not Vonage) to provide sufficient power to run the line termination equipment, no matter what technology they use. (Tough for the wireless services!) Plus, of course, quite often the Vonage equipment isn’t connected directly to the line termination anyway. I think someone may have given you bogus information. ETA: I see everybody’s pointing this out already. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-vonage-actually-do-for-me/480330/35 "2009-01-08T20:52:22Z")
[quote=“IAmNotSpartacus, post:6, topic:480330”] Consider your suspicion [allayed](http://www.att.com/gen/general?pid=11523). You can get DSL service from AT&T without phone service from them. You are absolutely right. I clicked on the link and found that my internet DSL would cost me just $10 more and I can now go VoIP!!! It might be Phone Power or ITP. [http://www.consumervoipreview.com/index.html](http://www.consumervoipreview.com/index.html) (Whaddya think?) And thank you, very much, **IAmNotSpartacus** for your information. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-vonage-actually-do-for-me/480330/36 "2009-01-08T21:01:13Z")
For what it’s worth, I’ve used ITP for a couple of years and I’ve had zero problems with them. I like the fact that they email you .wav files of any voicemail you recieve. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-vonage-actually-do-for-me/480330/37 "2009-01-08T21:03:29Z")
> [@Folly](#): > > For what it’s worth, I’ve used ITP for a couple of years and I’ve had zero problems with them. > > I like the fact that they email you .wav files of any voicemail you recieve. Comforting news, **Folly**. Thanks. Which plan do you have? My wife does an hour, hour-and-a-half on the phone each Saturday morning to her sister, long distance. So, I want more than just 500 total minutes. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-vonage-actually-do-for-me/480330/38 "2009-01-08T21:06:42Z")
Just as a data point, I recently signed up for phone, internet and TV with AT&T U-Verse. They installed a Battery Backup Unit alongside my router. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-vonage-actually-do-for-me/480330/39 "2009-01-08T21:10:33Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > Just as a data point, I recently signed up for phone, internet and TV with AT&T U-Verse. They installed a Battery Backup Unit alongside my router. I heard that they’re offering TV everywhere but no one I know could get it. So, in your area, what does AT&T provide in the way of TV, please? And how do they compare in price to Cable? (If you don’t mind answering.) ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-vonage-actually-do-for-me/480330/40 "2009-01-08T21:11:09Z")
> [@BarnOwl](#): > > Comforting news, **Folly**. Thanks. > > Which plan do you have? > > My wife does an hour, hour-and-a-half on the phone each Saturday morning to her sister, long distance. So, I want more than just 500 total minutes. I just have the $9.99 a month plan with 500 minutes. Without looking it up, I think the unlimited plan is maybe double that at $19.99? Something to think about is that you can choose any area code you want. So if you wanted to, you could pick your wife’s sisters area code and she could call you guys. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-vonage-actually-do-for-me/480330.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-vonage-actually-do-for-me/480330.md?page=3)