gelmtree2006 wrote: Lucky you. I can't even get a VoIP service to complain about where I am, although Comcast has been teasing us that it's coming for about a year now. I do use Skype some, but only to chat with others who also have it (out-of-town brothers). 
VOIP service isnt locale based. Your ability to get a broadband connection to run the VOIP service is.
One of the many hats I wear here happens to be a dealer for Vonage. As long as you understand the system and its strengths/weaknesses... it can be a beautiful thing or a disaster.
The #1 thing every potential customer of any VOIP service needs to understand is the importance of bandwidth (specifically your upload speed).
When shopping for your broadband connection, pay attention to your upload speeds, Vonage says it needs 90 K/Bs to operate smoothly, but my experience has been closer to 110 for crystal clear calls. If your upload is only 128k (most DSL lite packages, etc.) , your service will work fine as long as you arent downloading anything on your internet connection. If your using your connection and making calls on the Vonage at the same time, your call quality is subject to suffer somewhat (on your end only, the opposite end will be crystal clear).
For each Vonage line you want active at the same time, you need to make sure you have at least 110KBs of upload per line. This is where a lot of business environments start to have some problems. They simply do not have enough bandwidth to support everything they want to do at the same time. A high quality internet connection will go a long long way to fixing your VOIP issues.
The 2nd biggest fear I see is power outage issues (the power goes out... so does my telephone system). Speaking for Vonage only, their service is set to automatically forward to another # (in my case a cell phone) if there is a network interruption. It has happened to me personally, and it has worked without a hitch everytime.
I have ported numbers into Vonage and ported the same numbers back out without any problems.
VOIP perks:
The cost! This is huge.
The Vonage deluxe business package runs $49.95 a month for unlimited everything (including calls to Western Europe) and includes a seperate dedicated fax line.
The Vonage home package runs $29.95 a month for unlimited everything (including calls to Western Europe), but no dedicated fax line included.
Here is a paste of my last vonage bill at the store (I originally had it at home and ported the business #s once I was sure everything ran smoothly, I also have the optional dedicated fax line service):
| Residential Premium Unlimited Plan for 1-(830)-426-5140 (14/Feb-13/Mar) |
$24.99 |
| Basic Residential FAX Plan for 1-(830)-584-1120 (14/Feb-13/Mar) |
$9.99 |
| Regulatory Recovery Fee |
$1.98 |
| Emergency 911 Cost Recovery |
$1.98 |
| Sales Tax |
$2.43 |
| Federal Universal Service Fee |
$2.10 |
| County 911 Fee |
$1.00 |
| Total Amount |
$44.47 |
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I pay a whopping $9.47 in taxes/fees.
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The service is portable, I can take my Vonage box (about the size of a VCR tape) anywhere I go and plug it into a broadband connection and my service is ready to go. The wife and I took a trip recently to the Cayman Islands and I was answering our business lines while sipping a Corona on the beach. Our customers never knew we had left the country.
I will be happy to answer any questions anyone may have regarding VOIP, will be even happier to sell you the service if it is a right fit for your home or office.
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