[Hidden-tech] best phone service?

[David Hewlings]

We have much the same story .. we were paying $65 per month to Verizon for unlimited calling until we signed up for Vonage a year ago.  Now we're paying $25 per month for everything we got from Verizon and more, including automatic forwarding, web and email retrieval of voice mail, detailed call logs (which Verizon said "aren't available" under unlimited calling plans), etc.
   
  Setup was a snap.  We took it a step further and connected the adapter to the phone wiring in the house .. any phone jack will do.  Presto .. every phone in the house was connected to Vonage, and it was completely transparent to the rest of the family.  One warning:  You must disconnect your house from the telephone line before doing this, otherwise risk damage to the adapter from incoming current.
   
  Re: not able to keep your old phone number, we found otherwise.  When we signed on, Vonage told us that "local number portability," or LNP, was not available in our area.  But after we got things running we found a LNP application on the Vonage site, filled it out and faxed it in.  It took a while for Verizon to make it happen .. close to two months .. but we finally got an email notification that the transfer would take place the next day.  The LNP application not only transferred the number, but it also closed our account at Verizon.  Again, completely transparent and very satisfying.  Of course, this will only work if you keep your Verizon account and work both numbers until the transfer takes place.
   
  Overall thumbs way up for Vonage.  And I have to say Verizon just doesn't get it .. they're still sending letters to lure us back with $35 per month "unlimited local" plans that don't include long distance .. and they boast about 5 cents per minute for long distance calls!  
   
  Dave Hewlings
   
  
Giannina Granata Silverman <gsilverman at rocketranchdesign.com> wrote:
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Hi folks,

I was really annoyed last year with getting hammered for $50-$60 a month by Verizon for my home office.
I had a cable modem through Comcast, but after doing tons of research, the phone plan I opted for was Vonage.

Alot of the plans through various Internet phone companies have similar pricing for unlimited plans, but Vonage offers a plan that's 500 minutes of unlimited North American calls, which I hardly ever use all the minutes. It costs me roughly about $16-$17 a month after taxes. As you can see, I pocket about $45 that would have otherwise gone into greedy hands of Verizon. (Do I sound angry?)

At first, I thought the call quality wasn't very good. But when I switched from a cordless phone to a corded phone, it sounded great. The problem was not the service but the phone. My clients don't know the difference. It was super easy to install. Just plugged my phone into the router Vonage supplied me with, and plugged the router into my cable modem. Bam. Internet phone.

Awesome, awesome, awesome. I am never looking back. Take that, Verizon.

PS. The only drawback--I couldn't keep my old phone number. That's really only available in Metro areas...

PPS. Vonage has awesome web-based control panel, and voice mail. Forward your calls anywhere....
and get your VM through your email, if you so desire. 




Val Nelson wrote:   
   ** Be a Good Dobee and help the group, you must be counted to post .     ** Fill out the survey/skills inventory in the member's area.        

  
---------------------------------
  
    Anyone have an opinion on Vonage and Comcast phone services as alternatives to Verizon? I've heard Vonage is unreliable at times and since Comcast is a similar system, I wonder if that will be true for them as well. They claim they don't have the same problems but I'd like to hear from users.
   
  Thanks,
  Val Nelson


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--   Giannina Granata Silverman  Rocket Ranch Design + Advertising  gsilverman at rocketranchdesign.com  413.303.9453  fax: 413.280.0038  www.rocketranchdesign.com    
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