VONAGE Voice over IP

[mikec]

Has anyone ever used Vonage voice over IP in place of conventional telephone service? I'm thinking about it for small business use.

I'd be interested to know how well it works and its reliability.

thanks
Mike Clemens
CMY Computing LLC
www.cmycomp.com

PS. Wish me luck. Our business is 1 day old today.

 

[GOTTSPD]

I don't have Vonage, but I do have Sunrocket VOIP. For the most part its great though if you have a power or internet outage, your phone service is out. All in all, I'm very happy with it and with saving a significant sum each month.

 

[Inexcess]

I've had Vonage for over a year as my home phone replacement (over comcast cable internet). I've not had any issues with service. I've saved about $500 in that year in phone charges however.

 

[matteni]

Mike,

I have had Vonage for about 2 weeks now. I have been in the process of moving for the last 30 days and had to get a new phone number anyway due to an area code change.

Anyway - I decided to start with it at home first - then put it into my business if I liked it.

The good:

- Very easy to setup
- Unbelievable features for no additional charge
- I get my voice messages in my email (FINALLY I have a unified messaging center!!)
- When the Internet goes down - my system automatically rolls to my cell phone
- Great web site features
- Cheap additional local numbers in other cities
- Unlimited domestic long distance
- Cheap international rates
- Great customer service

The bad:

- I can't get DSL without a phone so I had to get Cable and I have not found Cable to be as stable so far as the DSL I had (Charter has been out 2x to fix it)
- 911 service is a little sketchy (have to set it up after the fact and separately)
- When I download a big file I can tell the phone quality is going down
- Getting it setup with my particular combination of networks, routers, firewall, etc was a little challenging. Best to feel pretty comfortable with computers and your firewall settings.
- You are relying on power for your phone to work (and internet for that matter)

Overall - pretty happy with the company, very happy with the service, and pretty happy with an IP phone. Not for people with no extra cell phone and no patience for dealing with occasional computer/network/other headaches IMO.

 

[dgaetano]

I've been using Vonage for almost a year at home. I'll second everything good said above, including saving a ton of money

As for the cons:

- 911: From what I understand since your phone can be anywhere in the US (world?) as long as it's plugged into a network, you have to tell Vonage where it is if you want 911 to work. Even then the call will be routed to the correct Emergency Service facillity, but your address will not show up on their screen automatically. That's the way it was when I signed up a year ago anyway, things may have changed.

-I've had no trouble using it as an outgoing fax line, I've not tried an incomming fax though I assume it would work just fine, I could not get a computer modem (which is much higher speed than a fax line) to work.

-I kept my old phone number. It took several weeks, as they have to wait for your old phone company to give up the number. Durring that time you get a temporary number from Vonage.

All in all I'm a very satisfied user.

 

[O-Ace]

thanks
Mike Clemens
CMY Computing LLC
www.cmycomp.com

PS. Wish me luck. Our business is 1 day old today.

FYI, your site isn't working. I just see a red x when I click on the links on the left side. Other than that, since it's an IT company, most people do expect a more high-tech website. Just some feedback.

-Awais