Ask99

Your experience.
Is it worth swicthing from the bigger older companies like AT&T and Verizon?

Mirch

I have been using Vonage for more than 4 years. I have no complaints. If you are using ATT or Verizon's VOIP why you want to switch ? There is not much of a price difference , is there any ?

Ask99

There is, isnt it?..We use AT&T. Actually the international package that vonage provides is the reason...its like unlimited calling to certain countries.

One thing is that they donot support the alarm system, or do they now.That was the reason we hadn't given it much thought.
I'm going to look at Verizon too since they recently have started providing in our area.

TLK

I am also using vonage from last 4 + yrs .. here are the pros and cons

Pros

1. I moved within MI, 2 times and now to WA. I never had to change my number
2. its $25.00 dollars for USA/Canada and 7 European countries (only land lines of Europe)
3. you can access your voice mail through your webpage
4. Customer service is one of the best I've ever experienced.
5. When I started, it was 35.00. As their business grew, they decreased the price to 30 and now to 25. And that is for all customers, not for just new accounts. And they did it without me knowing

Cons

1. you need atleast 4Mpbs, and for excellentt voice 6Mpbs internet connection from your cable provider, and you may have to pay 5-10 dollars extra for that.
2. When you loose electric power at home, you loose phone service also.

I am not sure (and dont think so) that they support alarm system

ahmadjee

I use Lingo, another VOIP providers. Don't have any complaints. For me calls to Western Europe are free along with whatever TLK listed but the price is cheaper. I believe I pay $23.99.

The bigger difference between land line and VOIP is you will lose your phone if you power goes down. So you better have an emergency bank up plan ... like a cell, duh!

Mirch

Vonage does not support Alarm system . Your alarm company has to work with that , my alarm company uses Vonage. Now a days alarm companies have wireless technology built in which is used in case of power failure , if you negotiate with more than one alarm companies you will not have to pay extra for that. I did not get that system , because I did not know about it but I am stuck one more year with the present alarm company which charges extra for wireless alarm technology.

ehtasab

I used SunRocket until they folded, then I used Lingo till August this year when they hiked rates to Pakistan then switched to ViaTalk (they offer ONLY 3.5c to Pakistan!!!!!)

WRONG. You don't need more than 200kbps for VOIP to provide best quality service. If You are facing quality problems it depends on your internet service provider.

TLK

that might be the minimum requiremant .. but the listed speed download speed, upload speed is much lower .. and that is why you cant hear people poperly (though they can hear you clearly) if you have a lower speed connection

Salahuddin Ayyubi

Skype user for last 4 years, so far no complains... Both dial-in and dial-out along with conferencing, voicemail, call recording, call forward, call hold, video and plenty more... happy happy happy for only 50 bucks a year.

ehtasab

If you are unable to hear properly it shows problems in download side, I've had 3Mbps connection and it worked great though sometimes voice was garbled (either incoming, outgoing or both), now it is 5Mbps it is still same (occasional garbling on either side). People with DSL connections (around 1Mb down, 256kbps upload) have used VOIP with no issues at all.

You can check your connection speed at:
Speakeasy - Speed Test

Lucid Chaotic

I've had vonage for almost 4 years now... and it has been a God send. I have a couple of virtual numbers outside my local area code and family and friends can call me without having to pay long distance.

I've had no serious troubles yet. I had to get my voice router exchanged in the second year becuase the voice quality just got choppy for no apparent reason... but since that change, I've had no other issues.

I agree with the list of pros and cons that TLK has posted above. Additionally, I'd like to add two more points... but I'm not sure if these are issues only in Canada since Vonage has its data centers and routing networks in the US:

1. Calling 911: You need to have your address information up-to-date in your online profile since that's the only way your 911 calls can be routed to the nearest response center. Unfortunately, there have been a couple of tragic incidents in Canada where the calls were routed to the wrong stations (wrong cities) because the subscribers forgot to update their info after they moved to a different location. This is a minor inconvenience at best though... just something to keep in mind.

2. Calling some global corporate phone numbers:
I can't call certain Canadian tool free 800- 877- numbers and 310- numbers such as Pizza Hut 310-10-10 because the calls get routed through networks in the States and I can't be routed to the local pizza hut in my area. I just use a cell phone when I need this functionality.

Overall, the entire features package + free long distance to North America and some European countries + the advantage of having virtual numbers far overrides these inconveniences in my opinion.

Spock

Never had any problems with Vonage, excellent service.

WiseGuy

I used Vonage for couple of years before switching to Lingo, there were no complaints at all, I called them for a minor Issue which I don't remember now and some Indian on the Help Desk was very rude and badtameez so I disconnected their services, in reply they ban my home number now anyone who has Vonage can not call on my home number.