Phones Programs/Partners - What is the best VoIP service?

Do anyone have experience with various Voice over IP services. Most interested in a US service (that I can use abroad) which allows you to have a physical handset, not just via the computer.
I am currently using Vonage, but their service has declined substantially the last 6 months and they seem to become a bit complacent given their early success. Would like to test out an alternative for my second line.
Does anyone have good or bad experiences?

Do anyone have experience with various Voice over IP services. Most interested in a US service (that I can use abroad) which allows you to have a physical handset, not just via the computer.
I am currently using Vonage, but their service has declined substantially the last 6 months and they seem to become a bit complacent given their early success. Would like to test out an alternative for my second line.
Does anyone have good or bad experiences?

I too am interested in the responses from the board for this. I have heard vonage is the best in the business, which you would have probably agreed with 6 months ago.

Ric

I've been reading alot about Skype, online is free, int'l to a phone is 2 cents a min. Free download out there somewhere. Was listed in BestLife Magazine this month as the best service out there.
I still use my Costco cards at 3cents a min so I haven't changed other than to cut off my long distance provider.

JudyJFLA

I am currently using Vonage, but their service has declined substantially the last 6 months and they seem to become a bit complacent given their early success. Would like to test out an alternative for my second line.
Does anyone have good or bad experiences?

When you say "service has declined" do you mean the telephone service or Vonage's customer service?

I have to agree somewhat on customer service....I sent them an e-mail regarding a question I had about how to configure the service with a new router I got over Christmas. Took 2 days to get a response, and all the response did was ask if I had figured out the problem myself yet? (I had.) If not, it suggested that I reply to the message and they would try to help me.

As to the phone service, I am very happy. I must say that the "quality" really depends on the quality of the internet connection that you have and not really on which service. I've had Vonage for 2 years now....first signed up when living abroad in Switzerland. The cable modem service there was only 256 Kbps at first and eventually went up to 512 Kbps. Also, cable modem service depends on how many other users are using the system at the same time. I'd notice a deterioration in call quality during "peak" internet usage times....usually evenings. It would work fine in the middle of the night or early mornings. I would also travel in South America with my Vonage box and found that in Hotels with free internet service, the quality would be bad during evenings, but great at other times....hotels probably have limited connections that all guests are sharing. I don't think these problems would go away if I switched providers, since I viewed them as symptoms of questionable internet connections rather than Vonage problems. By the way Vonage has a "bandwidth saver" mode that you can select on the website. If you are having problems try that....the connection won't sound as good, but you'll get fewer drop outs and disconnected calls on a slower connection.

I kept Vonage instead of signing up for "real" phone service when I moved back to the States in August. Here my cable connection is 3 Mbps and I've never had so much as a dropped syllable on a call no matter what time of day....I love it! I only pay for the 14.95 plan, since I don't use the phone that much and like the ability to ring both my "home" number and cell phone simultaneously, so I don't miss calls even when traveling. I know these features are available from the other plans too, but I don't think any offer as low of a price as Vonage.

P.S. I'll be happy to send a "referral" to anyone who sends me a message with their e-mail....it'll get you a signup discount and me a couple of free months!

I am VERY happy with www.broadvoice.com

For 19.95 per month.. I get a phone line with all the bells and whistles... and free long distance in the US and 14 countries!

I love being able to call the UK and AU for free....

I use Skype and can honestly say, it's great, maybe even fantastic!

It does depend on being able to get an internet connection - Broadband is better but it will work with a dismally slow connection such as 33kbps.

You can use a headset with your laptop (as I do) and there is even software to load on to your pda if you prefer.

I use it in hotels, airports, all over the place. It's dirt cheap - works out at 1.4p UK sterling wherever I am, wherever I'm calling. Credit is prepaid but seems to last forever. Pure Internet calls are free i.e. those not involving a terminating company.

What can I say...give it a go. I bought a plantronics headset that came with some free skype time.

I'm not a skype employee - just very impressed.

I am VERY happy with www.broadvoice.com

For 19.95 per month.. I get a phone line with all the bells and whistles... and free long distance in the US and 14 countries!

I love being able to call the UK and AU for free....

Thanks CraigS, I currently use Vonage but am going to switch to Broadvoice for their World+ plan, & for @ $25 have unlimited calling to Czech Republic. My wife is capable of spenidng $200 + in 1 month of Vonage (calls are 6 cents a min. with them)

Have a few questions: 1. can I switch my old tel # with them or do I need a brand new one?

2. how is the quality, same as with Vonage???


Thanks again,
take care

Thanks CraigS, I currently use Vonage but am going to switch to Broadvoice for their World+ plan, & for @ $25 have unlimited calling to Czech Republic. My wife is capable of spenidng $200 + in 1 month of Vonage (calls are 6 cents a min. with them)

Have a few questions: 1. can I switch my old tel # with them or do I need a brand new one?

2. how is the quality, same as with Vonage???


Thanks again,
take care

Glad to hear you like the service. At this time- they do not provide a service that will port over your old number! So either keep your POTS for the number or start fresh with a new number. They say this is one of the items on the radar screen they plan to offer soon!

They also do NOT provide 911 service. So if that is important to you, BroadVoice is not the way to go. They do "plan" on providing it this year.

I have found the call quality BETTER then Vonage.

They have a trial period if you want to give them a spin.

You can find lots of info about BroadVoice and other companies at www.voxilla.com

Glad to hear you like the service. At this time- they do not provide a service that will port over your old number! So either keep your POTS for the number or start fresh with a new number. They say this is one of the items on the radar screen they plan to offer soon!

They also do NOT provide 911 service. So if that is important to you, BroadVoice is not the way to go. They do "plan" on providing it this year.

I have found the call quality BETTER then Vonage.

They have a trial period if you want to give them a spin.

You can find lots of info about BroadVoice and other companies at www.voxilla.com

Thanks if the quality is better (I think vonaage has good quality) I'll give them a try. Do they offer a refferal program? that I could say you recommended me, maybe get some creit or bonus? 911 is in the works, in the meantime I'll use my cell phone if I have to for emergencies.

I currently use Broadline for VoIP and they seem ok--sometimes if I have had technical problems with voice mail (twice)--they don't seem to have enough cs personnel--dealt with it through emails.

I am in the process of switching to Packet8--I have read some good things about them. They have some good deals going at a couple of retailers where--with rebates--you get the modem free and they offer two months free service and 30 day cancellation for new service if you do not like it. They also do local number porting--and if available--they will also tack on 911 service for an additional fee.

.

Just got intoduced to Skype and my long distance provider has now been terminated :) Frankly, the voice quality of Skype is BETTER than my phone!! I also love that you can have a 3 way conference. All for free and I would expect it would also be free wherever my laptop went with me!! Very nice to be able to make trans-con and European calls for free. When I replace my crappy cell phone my land line may be endangered :) :) I really do despise my phone company so revenge is sweet :cool:

www.skype.com

Actually, I use VoicePulse and I am very happy. They have the quality of Vonage with more features. PC Magazine gave them their best of 2004 http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1738730,00.asp The main difference is that for their $15/mo plan, VP give you unlimited local and regional (usually same area as for local telco) and 200min of LD. Where as Vonage's $15/mo is 500 min total. Most of my calling is local/regional so it saves me even more $$$.

I have no personal experiece using VOIP, but clark howard talked about this place recently.

http://www.teleo.com

If anyone uses this, please report with your thoughts.

Ric

I have no personal experiece using VOIP, but clark howard talked about this place recently.

http://www.teleo.com

If anyone uses this, please report with your thoughts.

Ric

This looks like a really neat (kewl..) service. But--the web site says their beta test is closed and they are not acccepting new customers at this time.

This is what is on their web site...



Dear Customer,

Due to the overwhelming success of Teleo's beta launch, we are unable to accept additional beta testers at this time. However, we will be accepting new testers shortly, and we would like to offer you 3 free months of Teleo service to thank you for your patience! Just sign up in the space above and you’ll be among the first to know when we resume accepting beta testers – and receive your 3 free month coupon. (Don’t worry – your email will be safe with us. We don’t spam, nor would we ever provide your email address to a third party.)

We are excited about our upcoming full launch of the Teleo service later this year – and we think you will be to! With a real phone number, unlimited inbound calling, free P2P calling worldwide, inexpensive calling to regular phones worldwide, call forwarding, voicemail, online account management, and click-to-call integration with Outlook and IE, Teleo is a much more convenient - and dramatically less expensive - way to keep in touch than regular phones. With teleo and a cell phone, you’ve got all the phone service you need – online or on the move.

We appreciate your interest in Teleo and look forward to offering you truly exceptional service. In the mean time, don’t forget to sign up above to receive your 3 free month coupon once we resume activations.

Best Regards,

Peter Sisson, CEO
Teleo, Inc

Anybody tried this in the Midwest U.S. for primary. Interested in same for regular use, and then preferable one that would travel out of the US as wall as throughout it too. (don't ask for much do I?)

do anyone know a voiceover ip provider, who is linking directly to lotus notes?

i want to use my lotus adress book to call out from my pc

dp

Not sure about the aspects of traveling and using the phone from an international locale, but I have been pleased with Sunrocket.

sunrocket.com

It's a VoIP started by to ex-MCI execs. In January I got the (pre-paid) $199 yearly plan. This included two phone numbers, unlimited local and long distance, and two 2.4 Uniden cordless phones. (About a $70 value) A nice set on online features and a few minutes of free international long distance.

Maps

I listened to Clark Howard and decide to give VOIP a try. I was moving to Hawaii and decided upon Packet8.Net at $19 a month. They add tax and your final monthly price is about $20.50.

I chose a Daytona Florida number so my Mom could call me as a local number.

The system came with voicemail and the ability to ring another number if I don't answer the phone. That other number is programmed as my cell phone. So when an inbound call comes in, both my VOIP phone rings and my cell rings. Whichever I pick up first gets the call.

I am on a cable modem here and the system works well, except when I am downloading heavily on the computer port of the router. Most people will never have this problem, only those of us who saturate our bandwidths :)

If you decide to try the service, be sure to do a web search for "packet8 discount code". The code gives you a discount on installation and the code provider gets a finders fee.

I have been using and rather like Lingo - www.lingo.com. It allows you to have up to 3 phone numbers in different parts of the world.

I have used Vonage for about 4 months. Initially the voice quality was excellant but gradually it started detiorating. My main interest was international calls to Pakistan. After repeated complaints to the Customer service nothing happened. Eventually I gave up. Also when you return the equipment, you are hit with a termination fee ($40).

Now I am so confused after reading so many different reviews about other compnaies. I want some serious input about Sun Rocket. They are also throwing in Uniden 2.5 Ghz cordless phone with a promotion code PWW3R33 till 4/30/05.

Can you help me further if you found a good solution to call Pakistan using VOIP? Would sincerely appreciate your feedback. Thanks.

I have used Vonage for about 4 months. Initially the voice quality was excellant but gradually it started detiorating. My main interest was international calls to Pakistan. After repeated complaints to the Customer service nothing happened. Eventually I gave up. Also when you return the equipment, you are hit with a termination fee ($40).

Now I am so confused after reading so many different reviews about other compnaies. I want some serious input about Sun Rocket. They are also throwing in Uniden 2.5 Ghz cordless phone with a promotion code PWW3R33 till 4/30/05.

I have used both Packet 8 and Vonage and my main problem has always been international call quality that most of the time is really bad.

It seems that they route the calls using the cheapest possible way and you can hear it. Actually most likely you cannot hear anything at all.

I end up using AT&T/IDT calling cards because most of the cheap caling cards also offer call quality that is simply not acceptable.

I have been using Broadvoice for 8 months now. They are still suffering growing pains and their customer service is atrocious. Still, as another poster said, the $19.95 multi country unlimited calling is a good selling point. Voice quality varies. I have had usually excellent quality but occasionally really awful quality. Rebooting everything from the modem through the router and my adapter helped, but I never had to do that with my old landline phone...

I am also on Packet8 since our local phone company charges almost $1.50 per minute to call Canada/US.

Works great, no complaints here at $20.50 a month, it pays itself back in 15 minutes for me

Another vote for Skype. Especially now that SkypeIn is becoming more widely available.

Skype at 35,000 feet.

http://forum.skype.com/viewtopic.php?t=15388

I use talkparade. It is cheap, $10 per month for 300 mintes om my laptop, It has all the rights services. You can even use the software with a pda. I have used the service in Peru, Poland, Amsterdam, and Italy with out problems. It is a small company so if you need hand holding go else where.

I hade Alphaphone but I was unhappy and I cancelled the line.

Actually, I am using the Lingo Unlimited plan for $19.95/mo from www.Lingo.com and I am happy.

If you are smart; you cud have the voip line for free:

-by buying the D-Link Broadband Phone Service VoIP Router DVG-1402S/L witch is free after rebate by Ecost http://www.ecost.com/ecost/shop/detail~DPNo~647612.asp, and than you don’t pay for activation and shipping.

-You get the first month for free.

-And than if you refer friends, you get a credit of 25$ each. So the upcoming months are also for free.

(If you don’t have who shod refers you, you cud use my email menede@free.fr, thank you).

www.go2call.com offers VOIP and apparently has a strong technical foundation. My sister works for them and she raves about it.

Lavarock7, you might want to look at 808netfone.com. it's a new service from pacific lightnet that offers voip in hawaii. they're the only voip with area code 808 numbers

I am also on Packet8 since our local phone company charges almost $1.50 per minute to call Canada/US.

Works great, no complaints here at $20.50 a month, it pays itself back in 15 minutes for me

I think I'm going to sign up for packet8 because someone gave me one of their adapters several months ago. Do they offer any promotions that aren't obvious on the website? Can I port over my Sprint PCS number?

Do anyone have experience with various Voice over IP services. Most interested in a US service (that I can use abroad) which allows you to have a physical handset, not just via the computer.
I am currently using Vonage, but their service has declined substantially the last 6 months and they seem to become a bit complacent given their early success. Would like to test out an alternative for my second line.
Does anyone have good or bad experiences?

The Boston Globe reported on August 1, 2005 that a Cambridge, MA startup business, iSkoot, "promises to let people make international calls to other Skype users for nothing more than the price of local air time for the link from their cellphones to their broadband-connected home computers."

"To receive a call on a cellphone through Skype, all that an iSkoot user has to do after downloading the iSkoot program is set up forwarding, to redirect incoming Skype calls to the cellphone number."

"Making outbound calls is a little more complicated. After registering the cellphone number with iSkoot, the user creates and sends a text message to the e-mail address dial@iskoot.com. The text message can contain either a phone number, a Skype speed-dial number, or a screen name for someone in the user's Skype "buddy list."

The same article also reports that "(t)he website Echostore.com offers a device that can enable cellphone calls through Skype, but it requires buying a $99 box instead of paying $10 a year for just software."