Hi all,

I'm thinking about signing up for VoIP - what do you guys think? I want to cut back on the monthly phone bills (they're getting enormous!) and a friend of mine suggested SunRocket. I looked at their website and they have a great deal of three months of free service if you sign up right now...pretty good deal!

I've used Skype. It's totally free if you're calling Skype to Skype. I haven't used it for Skype to phone, but I'm thinking about it for calling my sister who is overseas.

We use Packet8 and they've been very good. The only concern we've had with VoIP is that when the internet is down so is the phone. But when you have a cell phone too, it's not really a problem.

We're looking at a trail for VoIP at work soon connecting our various campuses around the country etc. It as protential to save a lot of money.

As long as you have good point to point internet connections then the quality is very good but it can have a few issues if the connection is not so good (Kinda like the old days of internation telephone calls).

I have used Vonage for a year now on both my business and home lines. It works well and I do save some serious cash, especially for my work line.

That said, it is not going to be perfect. Call quality will depend a great deal on the quality of your internet service.

If I had to rank it against a land line, it is about 97% as dependable and clear. The savings is well worth the -3% if you ask me.
I save about 35% on my home phone bill and about 65% on my work phone bill when comparing features and talk time.

If you want to switch, I would say go for it, at least for the trial period every company offers.

We use Vonage as our exclusive home phone service, and I'll also add that it depends on whether you're using your internet connection for other things. We tend to be using our bandwidth for other things, and the phone service can be affected by that. So if you do a lot of file-sharing, it might not be the best option.

General web surfing doesn't affect it, though.

Anyone done a cost comparison of Vonage versus Skype or Yahoo? Is the all inclusive price of Vonage much better than the per minute charges from the other two?

Skype is now free for outbound calls to US Numbers, so that also is a consideration. Voice quality is pretty good.

Depends on how you use the service. With Vonage, I have the unlimited plan so time or costs is not an issue for me.

However, the big advantage is that we do not have to worry about my phone bill anymore. It is going to be one fee regardless of how much I talk. We average about 1000 minues a month. Comes out to about 2.5 cents per minute. The more you talk, the "cheaper" it is... With my office line, it is about a penny a minute due to the volume of calls. Plus you get many cool features such as call waitng, caller ID, 3-way calling, *69 usage, call forwarding, voice mail and "blast me" calling. (Rings more than one # at a time. Works great - when you call my home it also rings my cell.)

I also have two numbers... one for the area code where I live and one for where many of our friends live. That way - they dont have to pay long distance to call.

To me, though, if you are trying to compare Skype or Yahoo as computer-based phone services to a land-line alternative such as Vonage, I don't think that is a good "apples to apples" comparison. I dont want to be tied to my computer for a phone call or have to use a PC-based adapter to make a phone call. Vonage and other services use their own network devices as a phone adapter and, when installed correctly to the home wireing, is seamless. Most people who use my phone cant tell the difference.

But like anything else in the world, you have to pick the best solution for your situation and usage patterns. Sure, there are even cheaper alternatives but then what are the tradeoffs? For me, I need it to be easy for my family to use. Vonage was the best pick for me.

Edited to add:
Skype is now free for outbound calls to US Numbers, so that also is a consideration. Voice quality is pretty good.
Which makes Skype great for a business traveler like me to call home, even if I have to use my PC.

great info - thank you, all!

what about the 911 issue? i think that's the one thing i'm really concerned about with VoIP - because that's so important. And isn't it true that not all providers have full 911 coverage??? That's scary! Imagine needing to call the police, and not being able to!! i think i read that sunrocket has full 911, though, phew...

Yes, 911 calls can be an issue. How it is handled varies according to carrier. Vonage does have E-911 service in some areas and has committed to getting it available nationwide.

Using me as an example, I do have 911 service but I may be required to give name, address and location. A lot of VoIP users also keep in mind that 911 service from a cell phone is also an option, especially with gps-enabled phones and systems. (Many, but not all, systems are compatible with such technology.)

While 911 service is nothing to sneeze at, it just required a little family education and also to let others (visiting family members, etc) know that if they need to call 911, they can but this is what to expect.

In other words, it was not a show-stopper.

thanks for the info on 911! i just did a quick google search to get more info on what carriers have the best 911 coverage and came up with this:

http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,126135,00.asp

Looks like SunRocket and ViaTalk are the best options....

We use Covad here at the office with Cisco 7960 ("24") phones. Quality is good (never missed a call or have had other 'Internet-based' VOIP issues), LD and Local are free, Int'l is a few cents a minute. 911 access? Not a problem with Covad, but we'll probably move to Cisco Call Manager soon.

As a personal adjunct service, (I will NEVER rely on Skype/Vonage/etc... as primary service) I've been using Skype since Day 1 (have a phone number on most continents, forwarded to my office phone), with typical Internet-based VOIP issues. No 911 service, as this is NOT a replacement for traditional phone service.

Of course, I also sell Cisco VOIP services (Call Mananger Express), which works REALLY well in larger offices (ever watch "24?" All CME stuff.). Yes, a correctly implemented system supports E911 (and WiFi based IP phones).

-arg
(CSE, CCNA, IPTX Specialist)