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 needing info on voip 
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 Post subject: needing info on voip
PostPosted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 6:32 am 
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My wife may start working from home soon which means adding a 2nd phone line. It appears the cheapest way to do that would be using voip but I need to be sure it is reliable as she spends a large part of her day on the phone doing on line classes, conferences etc. Anyone have good bad or ugly they can share? Thanks.

Larry


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 Post subject: Re: needing info on voip
PostPosted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 6:45 am 
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Vonage is the biggest, but I have found their service to be terrible. I got them because I make a large number of calls overseas, and they had the best rates, but the quality and service, and dropouts weren't worth the $25 a month.

If she will be on the computer, I recommend Skype. $3 a month, and you get unlimited calls to US and Canada... Never had any issues with quality.

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 Post subject: Re: needing info on voip
PostPosted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 7:45 am 
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+1 for Skype. Inexpensive and all-around awesome.


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 Post subject: Re: needing info on voip
PostPosted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 8:44 am 
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The only thing I would add, and this might be obvious, is it is totally dependant on your internet connection. So if you have issue with connectivity at times then the phone will also have those issues. It is much like digital TV it either works or does not not, there is not fuzzy or OK reception.

I did VOIP for the last company I was with, we had about 300 people on it in one building. Within our building it ws great, we controlled the network. to the outside world it was 90%-95%. There were issues and mostly around volume and speed.


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 Post subject: Re: needing info on voip
PostPosted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 9:18 am 
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I've got Comcast Digital Voice at home, and have had less than 5 problems with it in the last almost 4 years.

On the other hand, I use Skype daily at work on my Macbook Pro, and it works like a charm. Folks can't tell the difference between my laptop mic / speakers and a regular call from my desk phone.

-Mark


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 Post subject: Re: needing info on voip
PostPosted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 9:26 am 
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I talk to friend from Luxembourg with him using Skype and it's better than any of the landline connections we used to use years ago.

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 Post subject: Re: needing info on voip
PostPosted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 9:44 am 
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Thanks guys, sounds like Skype it is and save huge bucks over an added land line. Never an issue with ISP so that should work.


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 Post subject: Re: needing info on voip
PostPosted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 10:01 am 
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I've had Vonage for a couple of years. It hasn't been terrible. But, it's very effected by what you do on your internet connection. Do not download torrents without throttling the hell out of them. I'm using the Vonage over a wireless connection, while downloading torrents, and it's been pretty good. But, I don't care too much about reliability.

If it's reliability you need, maybe you won't want Vonage. They have been pretty happy to work with me when I've had issues. In fact, when I didn't have internet and called to cancel the service, they gave me 2 months free and a year at 14.95/mo. (I got internet back a ~month later)

As far as sound quality, on the lowest bandwidth setting, no one notices that it's any different.


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 Post subject: Re: needing info on voip
PostPosted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 10:28 am 
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Now that I have perused the Skype site I have more questions. Doesn't seem like there is anywhere to actually get a phone number through Skype so how do you use it to receive calls or am I really missing something there? Tell you how to use your land line or your cell phone etc but nothing about an additional line like we need.


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 Post subject: Re: needing info on voip
PostPosted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 10:31 am 
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larryflew wrote:
Now that I have perused the Skype site I have more questions. Doesn't seem like there is anywhere to actually get a phone number through Skype so how do you use it to receive calls or am I really missing something there? Tell you how to use your land line or your cell phone etc but nothing about an additional line like we need.


There is a way. It's an add-on to your account, called an "Online Number".

I'm pulling up my account now to give you an idea of the options I have.

-Mark

ETA:

Ok, there's the basic free account. You can call other Skype users via voice or video, and chat with them as well.

Next step is "Call Phones". That gives you the dial-out service of your choice. I just have US / Canada at $2.95 per month.

I also have an Online Number. THAT is what gives you a regular phone number for people to call. I'm paying something like $12.95 for every 3 months.

You get your choice of available numbers. Make sure there is a local number available, if that's important to you. I had to wait a day for a couple of TC numbers (612) to come back into availability. No big deal.

-Mark


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 Post subject: Re: needing info on voip
PostPosted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 10:35 am 
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I use callCentric right now for VoIP. They have different plans available. I'm currently using a unlimited INCALL plan for which I pay $7.45 a month. I have had the service for several months now and have had no problems with it. People tell me they can tell no difference from a regular land line or cell phone call. As others have stated VoIP is dependent on your connection speed so you need to check that out first. I was looking into Vonage as that was a name I recognized but when I researched reviews of Vonage online I found nothing but complaints about the company and the fact that they have a very large cancelation fee if you drop service before a certain time period is up (like two years from what I've read). CallCentric has no start up fees (at least not when I signed up) and no cancelation fees of any kind. You pay month to month and there is no contract of any kind. I was told about Callcentric by a family member who knew people who used it and liked it. I really like it so far. I got the unlimited incall package and outcalls are 2 cents a minute. However, if I call someone I usually just have them call me back so the call is free. Most of my outcalls are to friends and family so it's no big deal. They also offer a variety of call features at no charge. They also supply your name and address to 911 so that if you call 911 there is a address associated with the number for them to respond to. I don't know if this is standard with all VoIP providers now or not. I know it used to be a problem because there was no address associated with the call to 911 using VoIP. As far as a phone number you purchase a number through the provider (a one time fee of a few dollars for CallCentric I believe).


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 Post subject: Re: needing info on voip
PostPosted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 10:43 am 
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Thanks again Mark. Sounds like exactly what she will need.

Could not use the suggestion after that as the 2 cents a minute would be a killer when she regularly does 2-3 hour conference and training calls.


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 Post subject: Re: needing info on voip
PostPosted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 10:49 am 
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larryflew wrote:
Thanks again Mark. Sounds like exactly what she will need.

Could not use the suggestion after that as the 2 cents a minute would be a killer when she regularly does 2-3 hour conference and training calls.


We moved one of our large development teams on to Skype for their daily conference calls. It's saving the company about $1400 per month, and that is at highly reduced rates.


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 Post subject: Re: needing info on voip
PostPosted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 12:36 pm 
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Something to keep in mind if you're looking @ Skype:

http://chattahbox.com/technology/2009/07/31/lawsuit-could-be-death-knell-to-skype/


Saw this the other day, that there's a very real possibility that Skype may have to quit doing business. Just something to consider (or at least monitor)....

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 Post subject: Re: needing info on voip
PostPosted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 12:57 pm 
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zimme71 wrote:
Something to keep in mind if you're looking @ Skype:

http://chattahbox.com/technology/2009/07/31/lawsuit-could-be-death-knell-to-skype/


Saw this the other day, that there's a very real possibility that Skype may have to quit doing business. Just something to consider (or at least monitor)....


Yeah, I saw that when they filed...

It looks like the court date isn't for another 10 months, and I'm betting the parties will settle. Not much different from BlackBerry's issues a few years ago. It would be suicide for a vendor to take down Skype, nobody else in the industry would touch them after that. Better for them to push Skype into a hefty settlement, and continue business as usual...

-Mark


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