Hi All, My firm moved to Vonage about 9 years ago, when it was one of if not the best, and it served well until about 3 years ago, when they underwent major restructuring to become a terrible provider to absolutely avoid. We researched others, and settled on what has proven first-rate: Intermedia Unity<https://www.intermedia.com/unite>, as setup by the superb local IT firm, Northeast IT<http://www.northeastit.net/> (NI). NI handles everything seamlessly, and the Unity platform has all you need: good app, mobile and desktop integration, phone (though upgrade to wireless handset version, and not sure if you can use your existing phones), and all kinds of integrations we have not explored yet, like CRM integration. I should say that except during the last ~year, even the terrible Vonage was always available, since our Comcast Business internet connection almost never went down. One time it did go down because of line damage that would have taken down a landline if we had that. I recall the NI/Unity package is $500 setup and $25/month. I cc'd Brian of NI to chime in here. Take Care, Rob Laporte Chief Business Development Officer | Founder | Chairman DISC - Making Websites Make Money 413-584-6500 rob at 2disc.com<mailto:rob at 2disc.com> | LinkedIn<https://www.linkedin.com/in/2disc/> | 2DISC.com<https://www.2disc.com> NOTE: Emails can be blocked by spam filters throughout the web. If you don’t get a reply within an expected span of time, please call. ________________________________ From: Hidden-discuss <hidden-discuss-bounces at lists.hidden-tech.net> on behalf of Robert Heller via Hidden-discuss <hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net> Sent: Sunday, December 27, 2020 6:27 PM To: markdhamill at gmail.com <markdhamill at gmail.com> Cc: Nick Clover-Brown <ncloverbrown at gmail.com>; Hidden-Tech Tech <Hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net> Subject: Re: [Hidden-tech] Landline options (south deerfield) At Sun, 27 Dec 2020 17:29:00 -0500 markdhamill at gmail.com wrote: > > If you use VOIP the service will be no better than your internet > connection. A true landline works on its own network and is in theory more > reliable. This actually depends on how well Verizon bothers to maintain the network. The existing copper local loops are not in partitular good condition, partitularly in the small rural towns. > > I use Ooma for my landline, which is VOIP and have had virtually no issues > in the eight years we've had it. Since I work from home, it's my primary > phone number. It costs me about $6/month and I get unlimited long distance > calling in the USA. There is an upfront cost for the base station which is > about $70. 911 works by using your physical address and supposedly it > connects you with the correct 911 call center. > > https://www.ooma.com/home-phone-service/ > > https://support.ooma.com/home/911-services/ > > On Sun, Dec 27, 2020 at 5:04 PM Nick Clover-Brown via Hidden-discuss < > hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net> wrote: > > > Hi all, > > > > I'm looking at getting a landline, primarily for emergencies, if our kid > > needs to call 911. > > > > Has anyone had success with alternatives to xfinity voice? It seems to be > > $40 or $50, and i'm trying to find better value options - maybe a prepaid / > > pay as you go provider. > > > > VOIP could be an option, but looks a little more complicated , and reliant > > on internet connection - is that right? Also seems to need a battery > > backup. > > > > Any recommendations would be appreciated! > > Thanks, > > > > Nick Clover-Brown > > LinkedIn <https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickcloverbrown> > > _______________________________________________ > > Hidden-discuss mailing list - home page: http://www.hidden-tech.net > > Hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net > > > > You are receiving this because you are on the Hidden-Tech Discussion list. > > If you would like to change your list preferences, Go to the Members > > page on the Hidden Tech Web site. > > http://www.hidden-tech.net/members > > > > _______________________________________________ > Hidden-discuss mailing list - home page: http://www.hidden-tech.net > Hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net > > You are receiving this because you are on the Hidden-Tech Discussion list. > If you would like to change your list preferences, Go to the Members > page on the Hidden Tech Web site. > http://www.hidden-tech.net/members > > -- Robert Heller -- Cell: 413-658-7953 GV: 978-633-5364 Deepwoods Software -- Custom Software Services http://www.deepsoft.com/ -- Linux Administration Services heller at deepsoft.com -- Webhosting Services _______________________________________________ Hidden-discuss mailing list - home page: http://www.hidden-tech.net Hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net You are receiving this because you are on the Hidden-Tech Discussion list. 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