Taking the Plunge with VoIP

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Hi guys. Sometimes you can't see yourself clearly until you see yourself through the eyes of others.
I am from Nigeria and too poorly know English, tell me right I wrote the following sentence: "While the nation has long been bracing for a surge in medicare as the boomers start turning the new report makes clear that fat, not just age, will fuel much of those bills."
With best wishes :P, Field.

Field of ND 12:19PM July 03, 2009

Don't bother wth the battery back-up. When the electricity goes out the cable goes out too. I've had Vonage for several years, and I love it. I back it up with a cheap cell phone from AT&T. Calls are forwarded from Vonage to my cell phone and my On-Star when I don't answer. With more than a dozen other features at no extra charge it can't be beat. It also provides free calls to several western European countries which I have found useful.

Richard Fietz of NY 3:06AM September 14, 2008

Thanks for the comments.
A couple of days so far and the Charter service is working like a charm. Dial tone sounds louder and rougher than Ma Bell's, but the voice on the voice mail is silkier. :)
Even more surprising, given my past experience with Charter, was the efficient install. And a supervisor called today to make sure things were okay!
I am aware it's just a year's agreement on the price, Tre. But I figure by then, maybe Charter will offer a similar deal -- or I'll be braver and willing to try something like Mark's ITPvoip.
And Charter is VoIP, or am I missing something?
David

David LaGesse of MO 7:06PM September 12, 2008

Charter's Phone Service Is Not VOIP. Charter is a Competetive Local Exchange Carrier. The only difference between them and you Ma Bell is the "Competetive". Charter = CLEC, Ma Bell = LEC.

Steve Manning of AK 1:38PM September 12, 2008

I've been a Vonage customer since Aug 2005. I work in the UK and the US and have customers in both. I have a US Vonage account and a UK virtual number on that account. When I travel I carry the Vonage box so the number is available for me to call out. I normally have the Vonage service divert incoming to the cell I'm carrying either US or UK (I'd never be so stupid or rich enough to use international roaming). Voice mail I pickup via the Internet delivered to my mailbox by Vonage. I pay Vonage about $50/month (depending on the number of calls) for this. I do have to pay ISP costs but I need it anyway for Internet access.

Dave Beck of NC 10:38AM September 12, 2008

Personally I use ITPvoip Excellent service and the price is great. 19.99 unlimited usage even after a year :)

Mark of NY 10:26AM September 12, 2008

I work for Charter.
Think you will be happy with the phone service. I have had it for a couple of years and I have never had a problem.
As long as your aware the 14.99 is for 12 months "great deal" and that after the promo falls off its going to be 34.99. Still saving you money.
Glad your making the switch! If you were worried about power outtages you should buy the battery backup for a one time fee of 40 bucks. But like everyone else I'm sure you would just use your cell.

Tre of WA 12:04AM September 12, 2008

I've recently started and discontinued VOIP service from my local cable company as part of a three unit package, TV, Phone and Internet broadband. The only problem I had with VOIP in the shgort time I was connected was loss of service due to the loss of electrical power from the local utility while Verizon local and long distance service remained useable as I had not yet decided to have it disconnected.
During this admittedly short period, my area seemed to have more then the normal outages with electrical service. When the cable company was contacted, the phone menue for problems they were aware of was quite extensive and far reaching and a lot of areas were "Out of Service" for several days, none of which were for hurricane related damages.
Having been through several hurricane and Northeaster storms with power outages, the local phone service has always been there for emergency use unless pole and wire damage has been so extensive that outage was inevitable and widespread which was not the case during the short time I subscribed to VOIP.

T.H. Bernhardt Jr. of NY 5:33PM September 11, 2008