[toobiloo]

Ok I've decide to give VOIP a go to rid myself of Verizon, also it was part of my justification for getting a broadband connection. So which company should I go with? Vonage, Packet8 or SunRocket? Every time I think I've made a descision, I read something that steers me toward another company. BTW, I'm in MA, and they all say they are available here.

[bboisvert]

I really like Vonage, not a single issue with them. It really depends on your internet more then who thr VoIP is

[Spliffdaddy]

Vonage. Seems to be troublefree. Good quality and reliable.

[macintologist]

Idon't understand why people pay for this stuff.

Why not just use Skype, iChat and Skypeout?

Skypeout you pay 2.1 US cents a minute to most 1st world countries in the world. What are the VOIP rates?

[macintologist]

With the Vontage basic 500 plan, you get 500 minutes for 14.99 a month. That means you pay 2.9 cents a minute, PREPAID may I remind you, PER MONTH, and only to US and canada

With Skypeout you buy credit whenever it is convenient for you, and the rate is 2.1 cents a minute to these destinations:

To some of the most popular destinations, we have one unified rate, which we call the SkypeOut Global Rate:

Argentina (Buenos Aires), Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Canada (mobiles), Chile, China (Beijing, Guanzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen), China (mobiles), Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hong Kong (mobiles), Ireland, Italy, Mexico (Mexico City, Monterrey), Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland (Poland, Gdansk, Warsaw), Portugal, Russia (Moscow, St. Petersburg), Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan (Taipei), United Kingdom, United States (except Alaska and Hawaii) and United States (mobiles).

Unless it is specifically mentioned, the SkypeOut Global Rate is only for calling regular landline telephones. Calls to mobile phones are more expensive.

€ 0.017 is approximately the same as $ 0.021 or £ 0.012.

Why the hell are you going to waste your money with yet another shitty telecommunications company called Vonage?! They are still artificially jacking the prices above what they should be at market price.

[waxcrash]

I use Vonage. It sucks. I get at least one dropped call a day and the sound quality is awful sometimes. Sometimes a call will get so choppy that I'll have to hang up and call the person back.

[baw]

I just got Earthlink TrueVoice. Seems ok so far.

[torsoboy]

A buddy of mine had Packet8, but he hated it and has now swicthed to Vonage just recently.

Skype is a nice option, but a regular phone for that thing costs a buttload. Bring the accessory prices down and more people would use it.

[Super Mario]

Another twelenty votes for Skype. Plus if someone else has it you call each other for free. You can buy USB phones that work with Skype from $29, some are also wireless.

[baw]

http://www.networkingpipeline.com/bl...companies.html

[Josh Reid]

I use Vonage and love it. I have it hooked up to an $11 regular phone from Amazon, and I use the $14.99 plan. I rarely go over my 500 minutes. They also offer an unlimited plan for $24.99, but I've never gone that high even when I DO go over my 500 minutes. I never call Canada, let alone truly internationally. I live in NYC, but am originally from Pennsylvania. I was able to set up my Vonage with a 412 number so that friends & family back there can call a local number to reach me. It also dual-rings my NYC cell phone, so I can be reached anywhere using two different area codes...can't get much better than that. I've had almost zero problems, and the one I did have was resolved quickly and at no cost to me. As said before, probably 90% of problems with Vonage are due to problems with your ISP and/or low bandwith.

Maybe I'm missing something with Skype, but what's so great about a phone that you have to use solely on your computer? My Vonage acts completely as a normal phone, except it comes with pretty much EVERY SINGLE additional feature that you could ever imagine, for free. 3-Way, Voicemail, Caller ID, Call Waiting, Call Forwarding, Dual-Ringing, Area Code Selection, Call Transfer, Call Return, Repeat Dialing, Ring Lists, Call Hunt...I highly recommend it.

[Super Mario]

Originally Posted by Josh Reid

3-Way, Voicemail, Caller ID, Call Waiting, Call Forwarding, Area Code Selection, Call Return, Repeat Dialing, Ring Lists

Skype has all the above features plus video and text chat. Free calls to Skype users. Cheaper calls than Vonage to landlines and cheaper international rates. The mic on my Mac is good enough for me to walk around the room and talk without holding a phone. And Skype works on the road. Vonage also has a software phone btw.

[Goldfinger]

Why don't you just get a regular landline that is absolutely 100% reliable and probably cheaper or the same price ?

[Josh Reid]

Originally Posted by Goldfinger

Why don't you just get a regular landline that is absolutely 100% reliable and probably cheaper or the same price ?

A Verizon landline in Manhattan would have run around $60 per month, been a 212 number, and not offer nearly any of the features I needed.

[only120xs]

Originally Posted by Goldfinger

Why don't you just get a regular landline that is absolutely 100% reliable and probably cheaper or the same price ?

Or skip the land line and just use your cell phone?

[Goldfinger]

Originally Posted by Josh Reid

A Verizon landline in Manhattan would have run around $60 per month, been a 212 number, and not offer nearly any of the features I needed.

Well then you're being absolutely screwed in prices over there . We got all those features here.

No idea what a 212 number is, or why it's bad.

Originally Posted by only120xs

Or skip the land line and just use your cell phone?

Nah, I don't like the idea of only having a cell phone.

[I Bent My Wookiee]

You might want to check this out:

http://www.networkingpipeline.com/bl...companies.html

[Josh Reid]

Originally Posted by Goldfinger

No idea what a 212 number is, or why it's bad.

212 is the local NYC area code. I already have a cell phone with 917, another NYC area code. When friends & family call me from my hometown, they would then have to pay long distance. (It's surprising how many people don't have unlimited nationwide coverage.) By going with Vonage, I was able to choose any area code I wanted, so I chose a phone number using the local area code from my hometown, which is 412. Therefore, they just pay for what to them is a local call, but they reach me in Manhattan. I also have the Vonage set up to dual-ring the house phone and my cell phone, so I can be reached anywhere by someone in 412 or 212/917/646 only paying for a local call. It's like I have dual-number-citizenship in PA and NYC.

[Laurence]

I use Packet 8 and since upgrading my cable connection to 768 up it works perfectly. When I had the standard 6000/384 connection it would be choppy and delayed if I was doing something else on the computer. For some reason with the 8000/768 connection even if I have some torrents running in the background the phone service is perfect.

I like the fact that if anyone leaves a message it is automatically forwarded to my email as a .wav file attachment. This means that I don't need to call in to check messages. (Although that is available as well)

[turtle777]

Viatalk offers a promotion for new customers.

$ 199 for TWO !!! years unlimited calling to US and Canada.
That's $ 8.29 per month. Can't beat that.

Broadband Phone by ViaTalk - Broadband Phone Service Sign Up

Edit: You mileage may vary. I am having troubles signing up.

-t

[the_glassman]

Another vote for Skype. What ever you do don't use Lingo (if they are still in business).

[alligator]

Anyone remember dialpad? I used this back circa 1998 and it worked well then. Nobody noticed. Then Skype comes along a few years ago and everyone thinks it's wonderful.

[the_glassman]

Originally Posted by alligator

Anyone remember dialpad? I used this back circa 1998 and it worked well then. Nobody noticed. Then Skype comes along a few years ago and everyone thinks it's wonderful.

Yep, I used it and it was great while it was free. It was ahead of it's time, but skype differs from dialpad in a few ways that make it better. Skype still isn't the big hit it could be. I would have used Gizmoproject, but they don't yet offer local area codes for my city.

[Lava Lamp Freak]

SkypeOut is free through the end of the year. Why hasn't anyone mentioned this?

[alligator]

I'm interested in a non-computer Skype phone. I'm not sure what I'd use it for with a land line, but it is a cool concept. Maybe as a second phone.

[Obi Wan's Ghost]

Most of them are shiz. There's many Skype phones if you don't want to talk to your mic.