VoIP phones??

[mary]

Does anyone have one?

Are they reliable?

Do they mess up your internet connection?

Any thoughts, tips or ideas are greatly appreciated.

I would really like to ditch my home phone without having to rely solely on my cell phone.

[Flacolaco]

I have a question about this too...and I'm sorry mary if this seems like I'm just trying to de-rail your thread and kick you in the proverbial balls...

But why do people feel uncomfortable with just the cell phone?

[u2sarajevo]

Have had a VoIP telephone since 2005 I think? No issues. And no internet connection issues. I had problems setting it up but that was because I have an ISA firewall that controls connections in and out of my home network... but if you have a typical home broadband connection with a linksys or similar router you will be good to go.

And the great thing is that you can take your home number with you on vacation.

[mary]

My download speed is 7.20 Mpbs, my upload speed is 489 kpbs.

According to this site I'm reading, my sound quality would be reasonable, but could be broken at times.

[u2sarajevo]

Originally Posted by Flacolaco

I have a question about this too...and I'm sorry mary if this seems like I'm just trying to de-rail your thread and kick you in the proverbial balls...

But why do people feel uncomfortable with just the cell phone?

VoIP phone is cheaper than a cell phone.

[Usually Lurkin]

Originally Posted by Flacolaco

But why do people feel uncomfortable with just the cell phone?

1) the brain cancer
2) "hello 911?? I ---- ------, can you send a ------, wait, ----- dude, let me call you back. I think we've got a bad conn- - - "

[mary]

Originally Posted by Flacolaco

I have a question about this too...and I'm sorry mary if this seems like I'm just trying to de-rail your thread and kick you in the proverbial balls...

But why do people feel uncomfortable with just the cell phone?

No problem.

I would like people to still be able to call my house, as opposed to having to call a specific member of my household.

[u2sarajevo]

Originally Posted by mary

My download speed is 7.20 Mpbs, my upload speed is 489 kpbs.

According to this site I'm reading, my sound quality would be reasonable, but could be broken at times.

Is that cable? Yeah, I've never had issues with my internet connection speeds.... but I have 15D/5U also. Although I had a VoIP when I was on DSL also and never had issues. Get FiOS instead....

[mary]

Originally Posted by u2sarajevo

Have had a VoIP telephone since 2005 I think? No issues. And no internet connection issues. I had problems setting it up but that was because I have an ISA firewall that controls connections in and out of my home network... but if you have a typical home broadband connection with a linksys or similar router you will be good to go.

And the great thing is that you can take your home number with you on vacation.

What service do you use?

Did you have to spend alot on the phone? I just checked BestBuy and their phone system was nearly 170 bucks. I think it was Vonage.

[jthig32]

I've used Vonage for a couple years now. I'm down to their lowest available minutes plan because we basically never use it anymore.

Considering canceling it.

But as far as the service, I like it. I lowered my phone bill from Verizon considerably and gained several nice features.

[Flacolaco]

Originally Posted by mary

No problem.

I would like people to still be able to call my house, as opposed to having to call a specific member of my household.

I guess I will have to re-evaluate my opinion when I have kids (that I deem age appropriate) that have a need to accept phone calls. You know...when they're 18

[u2sarajevo]

Just get an ATA, you will be able to use your old phone. We have wireless handsets and so only one base is needed for the whole house.

And it's Vonage.

[jthig32]

Originally Posted by mary

What service do you use?

Did you have to spend alot on the phone? I just checked BestBuy and their phone system was nearly 170 bucks. I think it was Vonage.

They will give you a converter to plug a normal phone into it. The catch is you only have one phone jack. So then if you want multiple handsets you get the wireless systems that have one base and multiple handsets working off the one central phone lines.

I'm pretty sure you can pick those up for around 50 bucks.

Edit: Dangit I'm a step slower than U2.

[mary]

Originally Posted by u2sarajevo

Is that cable? Yeah, I've never had issues with my internet connection speeds.... but I have 15D/5U also. Although I had a VoIP when I was on DSL also and never had issues. Get FiOS instead....

Its not offered in my area, which is weird. Its not like I live in Forney or something.

[mary]

Originally Posted by u2sarajevo

Just get an ATA, you will be able to use your old phone. We have wireless handsets and so only one base is needed for the whole house.

And it's Vonage.

Oh, old phone...that's very good to know.

Thanks.

[jthig32]

What is this, the mod lounge?

[92bDad]

I use Skype...pretty good rate, I think I'm paying $3 per month, plus a once a year fee of $29 or something like that. I have a local 214 number. I use both a phone handset that is Skype enabled at the house, then I have Skype set up through my various PC's so that I can have access to these calls in the office, at home or on the road.

The cool part, was using Skype during my recent trip to Europe...some folks didn't even know I was not only not at home, but not even in the country.

Now, I still have my regular home fun, in a bundle package with Verizon and their FIOS Service...but I am considering dropping the phone portion, however so far, if I do...the bundled Internet Package and TV service would run about the same as the full TV, Internet and Phone package...so for now, we keep the home phone.

Also run around with two cell phones...one for personal and one for business...company was too cheap to pick up the cell phone bill (Basically they itemized personal calls from business calls and then prorate the bill...so I basically told them if they want me to have a cell phone they needed to provide me with a company cell phone) Itemizing to the penny was too much of a hastle to make it worth while.

The added benefit...is that when my boss calls after hours, she can't get a hold of me...I turn my business phone off, when I'm off work.

Back to Mary's deal...good thing she can't be ignored :-) ... hey, it's a good day...Skype is the one that I use and I have had real good experience with them...I've had them for nearly 4 years now. I've managed to get business colleagues and clients to sign up for the free version of Skype and this has cut down on some level of business expenses.

Best wishes on your VoIP hunt!!!

[mary]

So what's the difference between skype and vonage? On the vonage homepage they're advertising their unlimited package for 25/month. Is that too much?

Also, my bro insists that my old wireless-g router won't be good enough and that I need to buy a new, more expensive wireless-n router.

Again, any thoughts or advice is appreciated.

Edit: Okay, so skype doesn't use analog phones....I'm not sure if I like that, but its certainly cheaper. And its only PC to PC? That definitely won't work.

[u2sarajevo]

That is a bunch of malarkey your brother is selling you. Even if the phone would be attached wirelessly to your network the bottleneck would be the WAN connection, not your wireless network speed.

Speeds provided by technology:

Wireless G - 54 mbps (net bit rate)
Wireless N - 600 mbps (net bit rate)
your Internet connection 7.2mbps - which is 7.5 times slower than your Wireless network.

So all upgrading would do is maybe have a prettier router to look at. There might be some other features available, but I'd be willing to bet you could upgrade the firmware on your current router to get those for free. And any of those features might enable you to have a little more secure wireless network (well, a little harder to attack anyway) but it sure isn't going to make a difference to the VoIP service provider.

[jthig32]

Skype is, generally speaking, a software based service. I believe they make skype phones, but I'm not sure if they hook into an adapter ala Vonage or what.

Your Wirless G router will work just fine for voip, Mary.

Dangit, beaten to the punch again by U2. Although he actually provided an explanation, so he wins.

[92bDad]

My skype at home is a wireless phone that works with a skype router...in other words, I don't need a PC.

The router is plugged in through my internet router...

The phone is a Skype phone, cordless looks and works like any other phone.

They also have a phone that is wireless without needing a router...basically it allows you to connect through ANY internet connection.

My parents are using this type of skype phone, they are currently running around Europe and they call us whenever they are around an internet connection. Again this is NOT PC to PC.

My Skype number is a local 214 number. I have voice mail on my skype, I am able to use call waiting and call forwarding...if I am ever going to be out of an internet area, I just forward the Skype calls to my cell phone. In 4 years, I have never missed a call.

When I'm home, my PC is usually turned off, or being used by the kids or wife.

The cool part, with Skype...I can use it on my PC as well as without...I can use the service as a phone, or as an IM tool, where I can chat with others.

The cost of the phone, router or other hardware is comparable to that of Vonage...but the monthly service is considerably lower. It's only $3 per month.

I also like that I put money into my skype account and I can see it debiting as it goes out. For domestic calls in the USA, there is NO Per minute charge...for international calls, there is a small fee...I think I pay something like 1 to 2 pennies per minute to call France.

I'm not familiar with Vonage, I've never used...but I imagine the technology is pretty similar. Ultimately, I would compare the initial cost to sign up, then the cost of the equipment, then the cost per month as well as other calls or services that you want.

However, keep in mind, you can actually go on and sign up for Skype for free and try it for free...provided you have a Microphone/Speakers on your PC.

Best wishes on finding the right solution for you...either way, I don't think you can go wrong.

[MavsX]

vonage works great. the price significantly outweighs the possible/occasional glitches

[Rhylan]

You might want to check out Voicepulse also.. they are only $14.99/mo.

I'm also stuck on a FIOS-less island, so I'm at something like 5Mb down and 1.5 Mb up w/ Charter and haven't had any issues at all.. through a couple fairly pedestrian $40-$80 Netgear routers, nothing special.

[Big Boy Laroux]

Originally Posted by jthig32

They will give you a converter to plug a normal phone into it. The catch is you only have one phone jack. So then if you want multiple handsets you get the wireless systems that have one base and multiple handsets working off the one central phone lines.

actually, you can plug the converter box into a wall phone jack (as opposed to plugging one phone into the converter's jack) and it will make every phone jack in your house a VOIP phone. its pretty cool. I have vonage, and i've been operating that way since i installed it.

but the multiple handset systems are a good thing, too. just letting you know that you don't have to give up any current house phones.

and i've been extremely happy with vonage on price. i think i pay around 20-25 bucks a month with unlimited long distance.

The vonage adapter/converter i bought is also a wireless router, so that was another incentive for me. My house wasn't on wireless when i bought it, so i killed 2 birds with one stone.

I've read horrible things about vonage customer service - but the one time i had to call during setup, they were helpful. knock on wood - no other problems.