Travel Technology - VoIP discussion take 2

Had posted in the women's forum about VoIP and wanted to respond to gof's thoughtful and detailed reply:

gof:
<<Not a lady, but we've cut our landline at home and use Vonage (VoIP). We've actually opted for their $15 plan with 500 minutes since we use our cells a lot too and didn't need more than the 500 minutes (they have unlimited for $25). Incoming is free, as are 800 numbers. So, yes I like it especially from the price standpoint.

Positives:

* Price!
* Call quality is good
* LD is included, with Vonage it includes Canada
* International rates are VERY cheap
* Includes all the extras the Telcos charge extra for in the base price, caller ID, call waiting, 3-way, call forwarding, call seeking, even voicemail and detail billing.
* (with Vonage) can add the ability to use your computer while traveling to make/receive calls too (with a broadband connection)
* The ability to take your base with you when you move (or travel). I've heard of folks getting them in the US and then having a US number overseas for making/receiving US calls.


Negatives:

* Reliability is less than regular phone (not an issue for us as we've also got cell phones)
* Some carriers in some areas don't support E911 with the location based reporting
* Requires you to have a broadband connection
* Service requires power so need battery backup for power outages (or just use your cell)
* Requires a small bit of technical knowledge

Note: Most of the VoIP carriers have a referral program. If you have a friend who has Sunrocket or Vonage, hook up with them and you'll both get a bonus. If you need a friend, I've got Vonage . I've also heard good things about Sunrocket, primarily they seem to be a bit cheaper than Vonage. We went with Vonage as they are bigger and seem (to me) to have more infrastructure support.>>

Yes, I've heard before that some people pick Vonage for similiar reasons. I appreciate the "friending" offer. For me, the price is right with SunRocket, as I've heard good things about their service in my area from a colleague, *and* they offer something I really value- an extra second line free that Vonage does not. I could assign it an area code to correspond to that of all my relatives back home and they can call me as a local call.

I'm actually considered dropping Vonage after 3 years of service and moving to Sunrocket. Vonage is indeed big, and that seems to be a problem as their customer service has gone downhill. I've had several major outages and other screwups in the past month and call quality is spotty with them. I just need to be sure I can port my current Vonage number away from them.

I just need to be sure I can port my current Vonage number away from them.

If it's not a number you ported into Vonage, you may run into problems doing this.

If it's not a number you ported into Vonage, you may run into problems doing this.

Yeah, I figured as much. Funny how Vonage forces the locals to give up their numbers, but doesn't like it when someone wants this in reverse.

I've read that some people have managed this, so perhaps I'll be one of lucky ones.

I use Lingo, and I'm very happy. Their free Western Europe sealed the deal for me.

I use Lingo, and I'm very happy. Their free Western Europe sealed the deal for me.

I gave them a try when they first started and was not impressed. No CID with name was a major drawback, and their voice quality was even worse than Vonage. Granted, this was 2 years ago, so perhaps they have improved.

Funny how Vonage forces the locals to give up their numbers, but doesn't like it when someone wants this in reverse. As I understand it, the locals are regulated, Vonage isn't.

See paragraph 2.12 of their terms (http://www.vonage.com/features_terms_service.php?lid=footer_terms). They claim not even to be a telecommunications service.

I think service concerns are the biggest IF with the VoIP services. The industry is still in its infancy. Some of the smaller providers don't have the weight to deal with some of the industry issues. Likewise, some of the ISPs, which the VoIP companies have little control over, have been offering their own VoIP services and getting a little, err, "lax" on their ability to properly handle packets destined for your phone. In other words, there have been claims made that ISPs (like comcast) have been throttling other VoIP provider packets causing service disruptions outside the control of groups like Vonage or Sunrocket.

All in all I'm happy with the service. If I was dependant on high reliability of my phone line, I'd think twice about switching right now. But as I said earlier, with a cellphone as backup, it's not a huge issue.

I think for the techno savvy, they ability to take your small VoIP box with you overseas and have it to keep a phone line available is one of the huge benefits of this!

I gave them a try when they first started and was not impressed. No CID with name was a major drawback, and their voice quality was even worse than Vonage. Granted, this was 2 years ago, so perhaps they have improved.
Hmm. I think they still don't have the name on the caller ID. I hadn't noticed. The voice quality has been fine for me, and I haven't had any drops. The big thing for me is the inclusion of Europe in the unlimited calling. My wife has lots of family all over Western Europe, so it saves me a lot of money.

Hmm. I think they still don't have the name on the caller ID. I hadn't noticed.Are we talking incoming or outgoing? Vonage doesn't provide outgoing caller ID names either, just the number.

In 2006, incoming caller ID without a name is not quite caller ID.

I've discovered that if my vtech cordless phone has the caller's info stored its directory in the same format as the caller ID number (1-XXX-XXX-XXXX) it will display the directory name rather than the supplied caller ID name.

Are we talking incoming or outgoing? Vonage doesn't provide outgoing caller ID names either, just the number.

In 2006, incoming caller ID without a name is not quite caller ID.

I've discovered that if my vtech cordless phone has the caller's info stored its directory in the same format as the caller ID number (1-XXX-XXX-XXXX) it will display the directory name rather than the supplied caller ID name.

When I tested it, it was incoming CID/Name that was lacking.

I have been using WorldCity by Yak (large long-distance company in Canada). Earlier this week they let me know that they are cancelling their WorldCity service effective May 17th and after that date I will be without a phone.

Surprise, they have a new service coming out but it is more $$ for the same thing. :rolleyes: While they offered a credit to switch to the new service, the fact that my number will change (it is my primary number) has me so ticked with them I am looking at alternatives. Right now I am leaning towards VoIP buster for outgoing and my cell for incoming (free incoming calls).

Any good, reliable, cheap options for VoIP for Canada?

Sure enough, Lingo's incoming caller ID does not display the name. That's kind of lame.

Sure enough, Lingo's incoming caller ID does not display the name. That's kind of lame.

Lame that they still haven't managed to implement that...

I use cablevison and it is not bad. The issue is not VOIP but the way providers have implemented VOIP in the US. I also have a 070 number from a Korean provider, spotless service, CID the works.

Yeah, I figured as much. Funny how Vonage forces the locals to give up their numbers, but doesn't like it when someone wants this in reverse.

I've read that some people have managed this, so perhaps I'll be one of lucky ones.

Here is the problem:

Most of Vonage's numbers don't really belong to them, since they don't really act like a telco in the purist sense of the world. They are functionally nothing more than IP terminating Global Crossing PSTN/SDN services. Most of their numbers come from the telcoves and xo's of the world (large CLECs).

In order to get the number out, you basically have to get the CLEC to port the number for you, and hope their OSS system will do it without notifying Vonage. I know one person who pulled it off, but had the added advantage of working at Telcove.

As an aside (although I know this probably won't work for Scott), the best move before going VoIP is to port your local number issued by your wireline phone company in to Vonage or anyone else. Assuming you play by the rules (initiate the port request before cancelling service, and the like), they (Vonage, or any other VoIP provider) pretty much has to let you port the number out. They can make the porting out process difficult (and most do).

the best move before going VoIP is to port your local number issued by your wireline phone company in to Vonage or anyone else. Assuming you play by the rules (initiate the port request before cancelling service, and the like), they (Vonage, or any other VoIP provider) pretty much has to let you port the number out. They can make the porting out process difficult (and most do).In the Vonage terms and conditions:2.11 Number Transfer on Service Termination. Upon the termination of your Service, we may, in our sole and absolute discretion, release to your new service provider the telephone number that you ported (transferred or moved over) to us from your previous service provider and used in connection with your Service if:
such new service provider is able to accept such number;
your account has been properly terminated;
your account is completely current, including payment for all charges and applicable termination fees; and
you request the transfer upon terminating your account.

When I tested it, it was incoming CID/Name that was lacking.

My Vonage service does supply incoming CID number and name.

A friend of mine recently switched from Vonage to SunRocket. I must agree the
voice quality on sunRocket is much better, but they had a major issue with Sunrocket for the number transfer. it took them over 3-4 months to transfer the
number from Vonage.

dont know what the whole deal was, but it was not pretty.

SunRocket gave them some credit, and the reason for the delay was:
"It takes much longer to port a number from VOIP to VOIP provider"

i dont know what the truth is, but be ready if you decide to switch over.

I personally have Vonage and based onthe outcome I may switch too

My Vonage service does supply incoming CID number and name.

So does mine.

With Vonage I am getting tired that they haven't introduced any new services since the day I signed up. I have no anonymous caller reject, I have no call filtering. Sunrocket does IM alerts for voicemails and several other cool features plus comes with one free virtual number ($4.99/month on Vonage).

They have a 31 day money back guarantee, so I think I might take the plunge and see if they can port me.

So does mine.

With Vonage I am getting tired that they haven't introduced any new services since the day I signed up. I have no anonymous caller reject, I have no call filtering. Sunrocket does IM alerts for voicemails and several other cool features plus comes with one free virtual number ($4.99/month on Vonage).

They have a 31 day money back guarantee, so I think I might take the plunge and see if they can port me.

Hmm, sounds like Vonage has disappointed quite a few people lately. SunRocket has soem really cool features- I didn't know about IM alerts for voicemail, that is really convenient when you are waiting on an important call, rather than keep checking your voice mail- that gets old fast.

The month guarantee sounds good, I got curious about how transfers work with SunRocket. My colleague who has the service says that it is the responsibility of the current carrier to do the number porting to the new one. Here's some info I found on SunRocket's site: http://www.sunrocket.com/services/transfer/

They have a 31 day money back guarantee, so I think I might take the plunge and see if they can port me.

Do report back on how that turns out. It'll be interesting to see your experiences.

Have you heard about sipdiscount.com ? It has no cost per minute to several landlines in western europe and us/canada (incl. mobile)
And 1 cent per minute to China, Russia etc.
http://www.sipdiscount.com/en/rates.html
A computer based version is from the same company
www.voipstunt.com or www.internetcalls.com

My colleague mentioned that he sometimes peruses phone forums and has read favorable stories about porting numbers to SunRocket- heard that SunRocket customer service does a good job of keeping customers informed of when the number gets ported over to them.

I ported my number to BroadVoice.com and I've been fairly happy.
I get the occassional hicup but its mostly stable and the sound quality is much better than POTS service.

When I call my GA office (from my home office in VA) it is amazing... they are on IP Phones and I'm guessing we stay digial from end to end and it sounds great.

I've also used NuFone and they have even better sounds quality (the codec is so good I can send faxes).

Do report back on how that turns out. It'll be interesting to see your experiences.

Yes, eager as well to hear your experience.

Have you signed up for SunRocket yet ScottC? If not, you might want to jump on it because SunRocket is offering a first three months free offer and today is the last day of the promo.

https://www.sunrocket.com/sign_up/signup.do?tcd=webf52h

Signed up today, tried to do the number porting online and was told that my number was not eligible. So they are going to manually port it. Request was sent to their provisioning department, so we'll see what happens now... I'll keep you posted.

Signed up today, tried to do the number porting online and was told that my number was not eligible. So they are going to manually port it. Request was sent to their provisioning department, so we'll see what happens now... I'll keep you posted.

Thanks. I'm also interested to see how well their CS/provo departments do in terms of keeping you informed. This is supposedly where a couple of the biggies (notably Vonage and ATT/Callvantage) really fall apart.

Hi all,
Slightly OT (unless you can recommend a decent service in Australia..), what are you using as your phone, and what is in between your phone and your broadband connection?

Locally, there has been some debate on getting VoIP (with decent volumes) using Uniden 5.8GHz cordless handsets. VoIP is academic in Oz, due to very slow broadband. Phone cards are currently a better solution.

Do you generally connect to your PC via a bluetooth handset, something USB or do you connect a VoIP box to your existing phone or cordless phone?

Considering phonecards are 1c/minute, is VoIP just a convenience from a billing point of view?

Viatalk is having buy one year get one free sale (http://www.viatalk.com/vtfreeyear.htm) through April 26. Thats $199 for 24 months of phone service. I have no idea if their service is any good, or if they'll still be around in two years, but it's a heck of a deal.

Thanks. I'm also interested to see how well their CS/provo departments do in terms of keeping you informed. This is supposedly where a couple of the biggies (notably Vonage and ATT/Callvantage) really fall apart.

So far it is really hit and miss. Their customer service reps vary from acceptable to incompetent. I've ran into a couple of folks with a real hard to understand accent.

What does annoy me is the scriptedness of their calls. After everything I ask they repeat it to me like I am some kind of retard.

The porting hasn't gone very far yet. I have yet to hear anything about my porting request, as it was a manual request they don't have any status on it other than "normally in 20 days"... We'll see what happens, but since I only have 31 days to cancel I sure hope they hurry up, there is no way I'll be stuck with this stuff prepaid with a number I don't want. If they fail to provide a speedy port I'll let them know that I will dispute the charges.

ScottC, sorry to hear you've had some not so great experiences with SunRocket customer service. As I mentioned before, my colleague has had good experiences with them. . .

Hope your porting gets processed soon and things go smoothly.

Murphy, I hadn't heard of ViaTalk until last week, someone mentioned they saw discussion of that promo in a deal forum. Not too many posters had used it to be able to share experience with it.

Still happy with vonage here.

I just noticed on the website that if you're on one of their unlimited plans, calls to the following countries are now free:

Italy
France
Spain
UK
Ireland

Details here: http://www.vonage.com/features.php?feature=calls_to_europe

Hi all,
Slightly OT (unless you can recommend a decent service in Australia..), what are you using as your phone, and what is in between your phone and your broadband connection?

Locally, there has been some debate on getting VoIP (with decent volumes) using Uniden 5.8GHz cordless handsets. VoIP is academic in Oz, due to very slow broadband. Phone cards are currently a better solution.

Have a Uniden 5.8ghz setup, with 4 extension handsets, no issues with Vonage.

Setup is:


Cable modem - Vonage adapter - Linksys WRT54G
- Uniden Base station

I'm starting to get annoyed with them. I called today to see if they knew anything yet, and they asked if I had "faxed them my forms"... Of course I have no idea what they were talking about, but it turns out that them taking all my info over the phone wasn't enough, now they need everything in writing.

Bad bad start :(

Of course, now it'll take another 20 days...

Hi all,
Slightly OT (unless you can recommend a decent service in Australia..), what are you using as your phone, and what is in between your phone and your broadband connection?

Locally, there has been some debate on getting VoIP (with decent volumes) using Uniden 5.8GHz cordless handsets. VoIP is academic in Oz, due to very slow broadband. Phone cards are currently a better solution.

Do you generally connect to your PC via a bluetooth handset, something USB or do you connect a VoIP box to your existing phone or cordless phone?

Considering phonecards are 1c/minute, is VoIP just a convenience from a billing point of view?

You need some type of gateway that goes from the VoIP handoff to POTS for your hosuehold phone. This is often called an ATA or Analog Telephone Adapter. I've also seen them called PAs (Phone Adapters). You can also get a native SIP phone, and these are starting to get popular on the consumer side. I actually just use a SoftPhone on my PC for my BroadVoice service for my home service, so I can't really speak much for consumer SIP Gear. I tend to only deal with pretty large scale VoIP deployments.

You can do the Bluetooth option with a Softphone, that's how I have a 312 number anyplace I have a laptop and an internet connection. Otherwise its an ATA and a POTS phone or a native SIP phone.

skofarrell, thanks for the update. Your post got me curious, so I checked out SunRocket's international rates. There is a montly international allowance of $3 and they also have special rates to some countries, which they call SunSpots (cute, eh).

ScottC, sorry to hear that porting is going slow hopefully once you've faxed the request in it will be smooth sailing as many SunRocket newbies have reported.

Sorry I have nothing to contribute on the Australia calling.

I still predict a 50-50 chance of a no-go on Scott's port, simply due to the issues referenced above in terms of who sourced the number.

But keep us in the loop!

I still predict a 50-50 chance of a no-go on Scott's port, simply due to the issues referenced above in terms of who sourced the number.

But keep us in the loop!

Actually, everyone I spoke to in provisioning claims they have no problems porting Vonage. Of course, I'll believe it when I see it...

I feel like I have to defend all VoIP telecommunications carriers here (and make no apologies for their old school rivals).

The reason you're getting CID with no name is not because the service or platform is incapable of doing it. It's most likely that the CNAM dip, or Calling Name service dip, loads about 1 cent onto the cost of each call. When you're giving away long distance for practically nothing, you're extremely cost sensitive.

Now, consider when you make an outbound call--a wholesale termination minute is approximately .6 cpm in quantity via wholesale Feature Group D (basic US long distance trunking) to some place like New York City and that the average call length is about three minutes--you can see how this might be advantageous. The receiving party most likely has caller ID and, if their LEC has CNAM Caller ID enabled, then your VoIP provider can charge for that dip (and probably does). I'm assuming you all have CID broadcast when you call someone at a regular POTS line, right? If not, these guys are idiots. If it's enabled, the CNAM dip to their database generates roughly 1 cent, making the effective wholesale cost around .8 cpm.

Flip this around. Receiving a call is a net income to the provider and this inbound reciprocal compensation most likely partially subsidizes that cheap service that you know and love. However, local reciprocal compensation is even LESS (and substantially so) than the aforementioned .6 CPM and the 1 cent per dip charge is kind of a buzzkill for this revenue, since it generally consumes the entire benefit and then some. Add a bunch of short calls and high frequency... you can add it up quickly. Even if the call never completes (and it doesn't always complete), you as the terminating carrier have paid for the CNAM dip. If no one answers the phone... ouch! Even less value

The calling telephone is part of the signalling stream, so the terminating carrier gets that no matter what (kind of hard to complete the call without the known endpoints). You get the NUMBER for free. You don't get that with CNAM. CNAM is a huge revenue generator for the ILECs, as they are the ones who hold the bulk of the users, thus the bulk of the value. CNAM costs are also the reason why mobile operators don't give CNAM information to their subscribers, but graciously sell it to landline operators when you call their subscribers. It's also why new startups will give you numbers, but not names.

So, the next time you call something "lame," please understand that if you want cheap, you have to sacrifice something. The VoIP guys have sacrificed CNAM. And good for them. They need all the help they can get.

Timothy

Glad to be of help. :)

Actually, everyone I spoke to in provisioning claims they have no problems porting Vonage. Of course, I'll believe it when I see it...


I've jumped into this aswell. lets see how it ports for me.
Initially I didnt have any problem with the customer service
or Tech support. when my VoIP adaptor arrived
it didnt work and I had to call in to make it work.
may be because I knew what the problem was.. it
turned out easy.

i'll report the rest when I see the vonage number ported.
Its says "submitted" at the moment.

(I did mine online and they didnt ask for the forms, but
it says I need to fill in the forms if I need to port a second number)

Wow, what a frikkin waste of time this has been. Tonight I finally got an email about my number transfer...

Our Number Transfer team has received your request to transfer an existing
number(s) to SunRocket. Unfortunately, the number, (XXX)XXX-XXXX, cannot be
transferred to SunRocket. This number is not associated with the location of
your coverage area. The telecommunication industry does not permit
transferring a number from one rate center to another.

What a load of crap.

I have just ONE tip: STAY AWAY from Sunrocket. I'll be cancelling in the morning, if they don't refund my entire $199 I'll file a complaint with the FCC as I have several emails in which they claim the transfer would be no problem at all.

Sunrocket is nothing but a scam, they did everything they could to keep me beyond their 31 day no-return cutoff date.

Wow, what a frikkin waste of time this has been. Tonight I finally got an email about my number transfer...



What a load of crap.

I have just ONE tip: STAY AWAY from Sunrocket. I'll be cancelling in the morning, if they don't refund my entire $199 I'll file a complaint with the FCC as I have several emails in which they claim the transfer would be no problem at all.

Sunrocket is nothing but a scam, they did everything they could to keep me beyond their 31 day no-return cutoff date.

Something is not right. If your phone number is from some other area-code
they may not be able to activate it for 911 services, but there should not be
any issue with the number transfer. Call them back and file a complain.

I just hope they dont pull this one on me.

I have a friend who transfered a MA number to VA, but they had to
use a local number as a primary number.. but they had no problem
porting the number... except for the 2 months delay.

Something is not right. If your phone number is from some other area-code
they may not be able to activate it for 911 services, but there should not be
any issue with the number transfer. Call them back and file a complain.

I just hope they dont pull this one on me.

I have a friend who transfered a MA number to VA, but they had to
use a local number as a primary number.. but they had no problem
porting the number... except for the 2 months delay.

Nope, both are in the same area code. I ran the numbers through the exchange decoder and it looks like Vonage issued me a number in a neighboring town, but no more than 5 miles away.

I canceled this morning and they credited my account right away after I mentioned FCC and BBB.

All in all the experience has been absolutely horrendous.

Nope, both are in the same area code. I ran the numbers through the exchange decoder and it looks like Vonage issued me a number in a neighboring town, but no more than 5 miles away.

I canceled this morning and they credited my account right away after I mentioned FCC and BBB.

All in all the experience has been absolutely horrendous.

It sounds like a complete BS then. Thanks for the info.. I'll
see what happens to mine. Will report.

It sounds like a complete BS then. Thanks for the info.. I'll
see what happens to mine. Will report.

I too am convinced that it was total rubbish, but I couldn't stand to put up with them any longer. It took them 3 weeks just to get things rolling on the transfer, and when they finally did get back, it was just to mess with me.

Nope, both are in the same area code. I ran the numbers through the exchange decoder and it looks like Vonage issued me a number in a neighboring town, but no more than 5 miles away.

I canceled this morning and they credited my account right away after I mentioned FCC and BBB.

All in all the experience has been absolutely horrendous.

Just out of curiosity, in your case do the numbers fall into a separate LATA even if it's within the same area code? (It hit me even within a two-mile area with the same area code. :( )

Wow, what a frikkin waste of time this has been. Tonight I finally got an email about my number transfer...



What a load of crap.

I have just ONE tip: STAY AWAY from Sunrocket. I'll be cancelling in the morning, if they don't refund my entire $199 I'll file a complaint with the FCC as I have several emails in which they claim the transfer would be no problem at all.

Sunrocket is nothing but a scam, they did everything they could to keep me beyond their 31 day no-return cutoff date.

Scott- just my 2 cents...
When I ported from traditional service to Broadvoice it took almost 4 months. I really hounded them and I'm totally convinced that it was my old POTS service stalling things.

That being said, I didn't have ANY investment in equipment with them or even startup fees. I can understand your anger over that completely.

Scott- just my 2 cents...
When I ported from traditional service to Broadvoice it took almost 4 months. I really hounded them and I'm totally convinced that it was my old POTS service stalling things.

That being said, I didn't have ANY investment in equipment with them or even startup fees. I can understand your anger over that completely.

Actually, my anger comes from several things:

1) In every email and call I have from them they claimed that porting from Vonage would NOT be a problem, I confirmed this before and after I signed up.

2) Their porting process is a huge mess. I have a feeling they just have a few people in a cubical somewhere that have no idea how LNP works.

Could have been worse... $199 was back on my CC this morning.

ScottC, whoa it sounds like you've had a very tough and trying experience with SunRocket. That is really too bad. . . I'm glad to hear you were refunded all your money.

As I was reading the posts, I remembered that my colleague who is the VoIP expert in my circle of acquaintances said that porting really does depend on the initial carrier and that the new carrier is in a bit of a hard spot trying to ensure the change happens.

Cpx, how are things going with your port from SunRocket, hopefully ok. . .

Cpx, how are things going with your port from SunRocket, hopefully ok. . .

I just called them to see the status. They said they are waiting for an answer
from my current provider. The due date is May 25th.

Lets see...

Thanks!

Cpx, it seems SunRocket is on the ball so far, sounds like they've got your request for porting on file. Hopefully all will work out for you. Keep us posted, I'm watching this thread with interest as I am definitely converting to VoIP and leaning strongly to SunRocket.

Cpx, it seems SunRocket is on the ball so far, sounds like they've got your request for porting on file. Hopefully all will work out for you. Keep us posted, I'm watching this thread with interest as I am definitely converting to VoIP and leaning strongly to SunRocket.

Ahhh come on, build an Asterisk@home server...you know you want to :D

I've just started taking a look at SunRocket seriously. I'm pretty partial to Broadvoice and Telasip, but the $199 anual pricing looks pretty good. One just has to hope their ISP doesnt start blocking VoIP (its being reported more and more!).
SR might be a great choice for my parents- if I could get them to change, HA!

Ahhh come on, build an Asterisk@home server...you know you want to :D

I've just started taking a look at SunRocket seriously. I'm pretty partial to Broadvoice and Telasip, but the $199 anual pricing looks pretty good. One just has to hope their ISP doesnt start blocking VoIP (its being reported more and more!).
SR might be a great choice for my parents- if I could get them to change, HA!

If you try broadvoice, let us know. Onething good about them
is you can use any VoIP phone. You pick your own.

Also checkout www.freedigits.com

One thing I like about SunRocket is the voice quality.
It seems much better compared to Vonage. I noticed it when
my friend switched. and I've seen the same difference
now that I have it.

I used their technical support once and it was great!
They did not have the correct ID of my VoIP box in
their database. I realised it and asked them to add it.
Worked great!
I guess because I knew what the problem was... it was easy.


Lets see how the number port goes. May 25th (The day I travel out of the country)

If you try broadvoice, let us know. Onething good about them
is you can use any VoIP phone. You pick your own.

Also checkout www.freedigits.com


I'm a pretty diehard VoIP user already...
Ported our house number to Broadvoice a while ago, I stand by them...great audio and good support. One support guy even gave me his personal IM screen name and said "seriosly, if you dont get it working this weekend, IM me and I'll help"...thought that was nice.

I also have a freedigits, freeworld dial-up, goiax.com, nufone and telasip account...and still we don't pay more than $25 a month total...I LOVE IT!

I started out with Vonage almost three years ago. Their service was extremely poor, loads of "fast busy" outbound and inbound. Customer service was non-existent. I tried switching to SunRocket on my other PSTN service but after four months and 27 emails, they still had not ported my number over. I knew what the problem was - Qwest had our home number off of the postal number by 1 (USPS issue) and even though I repeatedly told SunRocket what they needed to do (I work in enterprise VoIP), they just sat on it. I blew up, wrote the CEO and COO and got a refund.

I then went to ATT Call Vantage and voila, perfection. AT&T has a ton of dark fiber so they dedicate IP circuits for VoIP. My home VoIP line actually has a higher QoS than my Qwest business line. AT&T is the most expensive at $19.95/month but I will stand by them due to their excellent quality of service and customer service.

I started out with Vonage almost three years ago. Their service was extremely poor, loads of "fast busy" outbound and inbound. Customer service was non-existent. I tried switching to SunRocket on my other PSTN service but after four months and 27 emails, they still had not ported my number over. I knew what the problem was - Qwest had our home number off of the postal number by 1 (USPS issue) and even though I repeatedly told SunRocket what they needed to do (I work in enterprise VoIP), they just sat on it. I blew up, wrote the CEO and COO and got a refund.

I then went to ATT Call Vantage and voila, perfection. AT&T has a ton of dark fiber so they dedicate IP circuits for VoIP. My home VoIP line actually has a higher QoS than my Qwest business line. AT&T is the most expensive at $19.95/month but I will stand by them due to their excellent quality of service and customer service.

Thanks, I needed that; I was seriously considering using them.

AT&T is the most expensive at $19.95/month but I will stand by them due to their excellent quality of service and customer service.

i believe its 29.99 not 19.99. correct me if i'm wrong

i believe its 29.99 not 19.99. correct me if i'm wrong
Depends on whether you want unlimited long distance. I don't call enough on my land line to pay the extra $10/mo. All of our extended family is on Cingular so we call each other free M2M. I use Penny Talk for international calls, which we do a lot of every month @ 2cents/min.

Current Plan
AT&T CallVantage® Local Plan
$19.99
Enjoy unlimited Local calling and spend only 4¢ per minute on all Long Distance calls, including calls forwarded to non-local numbers. In addition to remarkable voice quality, you'll also get:

Powerful New Features
* Call Log
* Voicemail
* Phone Book
* Locate Me
* Do Not Disturb
* Speed Dial
* Conference Calling
* 3-Way Calling
* Call Forwarding
* Call Waiting
* Caller ID
* E-911 Service
* Safe Forward Number
* Fax and Modem Support
* Directory Assistance
* International Call Block

As I understand it, the locals are regulated, Vonage isn't.

See paragraph 2.12 of their terms (http://www.vonage.com/features_terms_service.php?lid=footer_terms). They claim not even to be a telecommunications service.
Believe me they do NOT want to be a telecommunications service because if they were they would be subject to regulation by the FCC, paying into the Universal Service Fund, etc. There is a huge battle going on in Congress right now over network neutrality and the wireline phone companies want to charge us based on content - more for voice, etc. We do NOT want that.

Vonage now has toll free western Europe just like Lingo. None of the services allow you to call mobiles without a charge. Lingo has the worst customer service. I have Lingo and Vonage so if anyone needs a referral PM me and you will save some money.

Vonage now has toll free western Europe just like Lingo. None of the services allow you to call mobiles without a charge.

Only five countries, so pretty limited....

I then went to ATT Call Vantage and voila, perfection. AT&T has a ton of dark fiber so they dedicate IP circuits for VoIP. My home VoIP line actually has a higher QoS than my Qwest business line. AT&T is the most expensive at $19.95/month but I will stand by them due to their excellent quality of service and customer service.

AT&T is moving their entire network from circuit switched to packet switched. Pretty much every service you buy from AT&T anymore is IP-hauled at some point.

AT&T is moving their entire network from circuit switched to packet switched. Pretty much every service you buy from AT&T anymore is IP-hauled at some point.

Like everything else these days with telecom--- it all depends on who you talk with!

Yes, I agree with you. However a lot of the old original AT&T people don't realize this.

. . . I use Penny Talk for international calls, which we do a lot of every month @ 2cents/min. . . . .
What is Penny Talk?

What is Penny Talk?
http://www.pennytalk.com/

What is Penny Talk?

Looks like a calling card service that uses VoIP on the back end for cheap calls.

At the risk of REALLY sounding like a broken record, I'd buy a $40 PC off e-bay, load Asterisk@home and be my own calling card provider!
Get a 1-800 number on a $5/month Broadvoice account and you are good to go
:D

Yeah, I'm obsessed.

One thing I like about SunRocket is the voice quality.
It seems much better compared to Vonage. I noticed it when
my friend switched. and I've seen the same difference
now that I have it.


This sounds a lot like what I saw on a deal forum, people were happy with SunRocket call quality and not so much with Vonage's.

KevAz, sounds like you've had a good experience with AT&T's option, but I have such bad memories of them illegally switching my parents to them from MCI (without their knowledge) a few times in the last couple of years- and I despised their AT&T wireless connection and rude customer service- they hung up on me! So I don't want to deal with any AT&T affiliates.

This sounds a lot like what I saw on a deal forum, people were happy with SunRocket call quality and not so much with Vonage's.


I hope it stays this way. Vonage was good in the beginning, but the quality
went down the drain over time.

... I use Penny Talk for international calls, which we do a lot of every month @ 2cents/min....
According to their website, they charge you $.49 connection fee/PER call. Never used them before. Their rates might be cheap. Do the math. If you make infrequent but long international calls, you might be able to justify the connection fee. However, if you need to call internationally frequently, those connection fee really adds up. You will be better off finding another pre-paid phone cards without connection fee charges at all.

Just my 2cents!

Looks like a calling card service that uses VoIP on the back end for cheap calls.

At the risk of REALLY sounding like a broken record, I'd buy a $40 PC off e-bay, load Asterisk@home and be my own calling card provider!
Get a 1-800 number on a $5/month Broadvoice account and you are good to go
:D

Yeah, I'm obsessed.

I thought about this, but how much are you going to eat in electric bills running the PC 24/7? Its the same thing stopping me from setting up the parents with a skype phone. The thought of just running a PC 24/7...

yeah yeah I know. data center at work. why not data center at home :D

I thought about this, but how much are you going to eat in electric bills running the PC 24/7? Its the same thing stopping me from setting up the parents with a skype phone. The thought of just running a PC 24/7...

yeah yeah I know. data center at work. why not data center at home :D

At home I have:
2 windows domain controllers - 250w power supplies
1 Asterisk / Linux box - celeron w/ 100w power supply
2 Mac minis - no idea, but not a lot of power
1 XP workstation - 150w
1 XP Laptop - 100w?
1 Mac G5 - think probably sucks down the juice
1 IPcop (linux pc) router - 150w?
odles of other gadgets from amplifiers for audio zones to accesspoints

Honestly, (from someone with a small data center), I bet we pay an extra $10 - $15.

I mean, if you have a TiVo, that's really just a linux PC running constantly, usually with the drive running at high RPMs.

Didn't mean to derail the topic...I'd glady pay an extra $5/month in power to run my own VoIP box. That being said, I'm obsessed, but the sheer control you get out if it is worth it. Get a freedigits.com account for free incoming calls route those to DISA (gets you a dialtone) then place calls out over a $5/month broadvoice account. For $10 you've given yourself an unlimited calling card. You can even get a 1-800 number and then you're really in business. That very thing really saved me once when my cell phone was dead and I was stuck in the LGA airport. I was able to dial into my * box and make calls over my business line just like I was in my office, all from a pay phone.


p.s. you have to understand, I've been through this with Mrs SpaceBass already...I have many arguments backing up my obsession pre-stored and ready for use :D

I hope it stays this way. Vonage was good in the beginning, but the quality went down the drain over time.

I'm happy with vonage. I agree with Scott, that there haven't been a lot of new features added in the last year, but like the old POTS line it replaced, it just works.

Only outage I've had so far this year is a 12 hour one when Comcost didn't bother doing a DR test and lost the whole state of Indiana (http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060519/NEWS01/605190512) last week to power failure and a bad backup generator. :rolleyes:

Get a freedigits.com account for free incoming calls route those to DISA (gets you a dialtone) then place calls out over a $5/month broadvoice account. For $10 you've given yourself an unlimited calling card.But in this scenario, what are you using to call your Asterix box? I know there's Sprint's call-home-all-you-want-for-$5 but what if that's not an option?

I'm happy with vonage. I agree with Scott, that there haven't been a lot of new features added in the last year, but like the old POTS line it replaced, it just works.

Only outage I've had so far this year is a 12 hour one when Comcost didn't bother doing a DR test and lost the whole state of Indiana (http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060519/NEWS01/605190512) last week to power failure and a bad backup generator. :rolleyes:


I didnt see any major outage with Vonage, but the voice quality
was not as great. I can see a clear difference with SunRocket.
lets hope my transfer goes well..

I have lingo, mostly because I can get a phone number for Rio so people there can call me for free ($10 a month for the extra number)..

The quality is sometimes good, sometimes a lot of echo. I did bump up the usable bandwidth.

Customer service is terrible..

But in this scenario, what are you using to call your Asterix box? I know there's Sprint's call-home-all-you-want-for-$5 but what if that's not an option?
It does get a little tricky then...I know Verizon is offering something similar. If you are trying to knock your cell phone bill down, then its totally dependant on your carrier offering a free way to call a specified number.

I have lingo, mostly because I can get a phone number for Rio so people there can call me for free ($10 a month for the extra number)..

.
I think that price probably beats Voxbone but have you looked at Voxbone.com? They offer incoming lines at a flat rate for almost every country. I use them when I travel abroad, get a local number where I'm visiting and then cancle it when I get home. They've always been very great in terms of customer service.

I think that price probably beats Voxbone but have you looked at Voxbone.com? They offer incoming lines at a flat rate for almost every country. I use them when I travel abroad, get a local number where I'm visiting and then cancle it when I get home. They've always been very great in terms of customer service.
How is the quality? I use line for business. Lingo is OK, but does have echo at times.

How is the quality? I use line for business. Lingo is OK, but does have echo at times.
I've found it to be excelent actually...I think they use ulaw which is uncompressed, but I cannot remember.
You'll need some kind of SIP device. Either an Asterisk server or a ATA (like the Linksys PAP2) or a SIP phone (Linksys 941 or WIP-33, etc)...So if Lingo provides a device you might be better off with them.

At home I have:
2 windows domain controllers - 250w power supplies
1 Asterisk / Linux box - celeron w/ 100w power supply
2 Mac minis - no idea, but not a lot of power
1 XP workstation - 150w
1 XP Laptop - 100w?
1 Mac G5 - think probably sucks down the juice
1 IPcop (linux pc) router - 150w?
odles of other gadgets from amplifiers for audio zones to accesspoints


OK, I'll take the bait on this one. Why would anyone have two windows domain controllers in a home network. . . . why would anyone have a domain on a home network?

OK, I'll take the bait on this one. Why would anyone have two windows domain controllers in a home network. . . . why would anyone have a domain on a home network?

ahhhh probably a topic for another tread some other time...

1) singel sign on / centralized resources - my user is my user on any computer i use.... I cannot tell you how much we get out of this...
2) file / print sharing
3) exchange server for email
4) sharepoint server for my personal web page
5) when I was working on my MCSE i needed a lab
6) all the other assoicated services- DNS, DHCP, etc

OK, I'll take the bait on this one. Why would anyone have two windows domain controllers in a home network. . . . why would anyone have a domain on a home network?

Some other reasons

1.Control access to web sites you dont want your kids going to

2. Share printers easily

3. Central file storage

And once you have one DC - you must have two ;)



and the reasons mentioned above.

I've found it to be excelent actually...I think they use ulaw which is uncompressed, but I cannot remember.
You'll need some kind of SIP device. Either an Asterisk server or a ATA (like the Linksys PAP2) or a SIP phone (Linksys 941 or WIP-33, etc)...So if Lingo provides a device you might be better off with them.
This looks like too much junk to lug around when traveling!!

This looks like too much junk to lug around when traveling!!

You can always use a softphone or wifi phone while traveling...assumed we were talking about being stationary.

You can always use a softphone or wifi phone while traveling...assumed we were talking about being stationary.
I tried a phone hooked to my USB before, and one other, but seem to like the regular phone with speakerphone and cordless. same as home. since I do a lot of conference calls.. still a lot to lug around..

so I end up taking, my lingo box, and a panasonic speakerphone.. not too much weight. The lingo box is a must, the phone I guess I could have substitute.. This last trip, my laptop motherboard died, so was without that, was nice to at least have the phone..

Lame that they still haven't managed to implement that...
I just got an email that they've implemented it. I'll let you know whether it works when I get home next week.

So far it is really hit and miss. Their customer service reps vary from acceptable to incompetent. I've ran into a couple of folks with a real hard to understand accent.

What does annoy me is the scriptedness of their calls. After everything I ask they repeat it to me like I am some kind of retard.

The porting hasn't gone very far yet. I have yet to hear anything about my porting request, as it was a manual request they don't have any status on it other than "normally in 20 days"... We'll see what happens, but since I only have 31 days to cancel I sure hope they hurry up, there is no way I'll be stuck with this stuff prepaid with a number I don't want. If they fail to provide a speedy port I'll let them know that I will dispute the charges.

Looks like it was a good thing I didn't stick with Sunrocket...

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/SunRocket-Dead-85779

Looks like it was a good thing I didn't stick with Sunrocket...

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/SunRocket-Dead-85779

Oh. Crap.

more on news:
http://www.reuters.com/article/technology-media-telco-SP/idUSN1633088920070717

I've tried Packet 8, voxby and currently using viatalk. I've been using viatalk for the last 10 months, got them when they got the promotion $200/year free 1year. So far, I can say viatalk call quality is a lot better than P8 or voxby. Lots of useful feature.
Their negatives:
Unable to see how much international call I've used for current period which means kind of difficult for me to budget international call.
It's a lot of hassle to bring & used them overseas.
I'll need another voip if I go overseas a lot, however for domestic used, I'm happy with viatalk.

I'm even considering moving my Vonage number to ATT Callvantage (ugh).

Even though Vonage is in slightly better shape than Sunrocket, I really don't want to end up in the same boat at the 200k SR subscribers. At least I'm paying month to month...

My SunRocket renewal came through less than a month ago, so I've disputed the charge. I've also initiated the port of my number back to a Verizon land line.

GrandCentral will give me decent voice mail capabilities, which Verizon lacks.

VOIP was a fine experiment, and worthwhile for the time I had it. But I'm not taking this chance again.

I am one of those unlucky 200k members of sunrocket. After some problems yesterday the phone is working again today but don't know for how much longer. The service was excellent for me, and I was on the second year of the $199 w/ one year free promo. There is some talk of Viatalk giving the same promo but I am reluctant to sink money upfront on another VOIP company until Verizon's patent lawsuits play out.

I think i'm gonna wait and watch what happens... probably no luck disputing charges since I paid for it long time back.

The most disgusting thing about all of this is that Sunrocket hasn't even issued a statement. Their website is still all cheery business-as-usual. The news section of their site is all cheery stuff about lovebirds using Sunrocket...throw-up-in-your-mouth kind of stuff.

It just demonstrates that this is a totally classless organization. At least when airlines have gone under, they've issued press releases and given customers some indication of what to do next.

I think i'm gonna wait and watch what happens... probably no luck disputing charges since I paid for it long time back.

Someone posted the following at fatwallet.com

1b) if you are over the allotted limit and the CSR informs you that, don’t just take that for an answer. Tell them that you signed up for a 24 month service and paid $200 upfront for it and that the company has closed it doors (ask them to call Customer service for SR)

Since Amex basically already told me to bugger-off (before I read this post), I wonder if anyone else has had any success with using this approach or could comment on how it might override the 60day limit that Amex imposes on charges for dispute?

Edited to add: the sunrocket website is still up. I actually called the rep. from the company handling their liquidation and he said that if the company appears to still be in business or soliciting customers, it can be in huge trouble - and having the website up appears evidence of that. I hope some lawyers get together and go after the principals of the company...even if I don't get a dime, just watching them get dragged into court under a lawsuit would be worth the loss of my $200.

My service was paid through Discover, and the renewal charge came through on June 5. According to the Dispute people, my risk of not getting the charge reversed is based on the closure of SunRocket's vendor account with Discover. They've reversed the charge against my account, and have notified SunRocket (not sure how) that the charge is being contested. If the vendor account has been closed, I'm apparently SOL, and the charge will be reapplied. We'll see.

I hope some lawyers get together and go after the principals of the company...even if I don't get a dime, just watching them get dragged into court under a lawsuit would be worth the loss of my $200.

It's be even better if the Justice Dept can apprehend the executives and try them criminally. I'd even donate to that fund... The catch is that the laws are murky when it comes to VoIP - if a traditional telco did this, they'd be in clear violation of FCC laws, particularly with how the E911 services are cut off without warning. But I'm not sure about VoIP. Still, somewhere out there, one of those 200,000 customers tried to make a 911 call today. Hopefully they will get lawyers who will at least hunt down Sunrocket executives and hopefully go after them in civil court at a minimum.