VoIP

[LostinLaMancha]

Has anyone on this board tried Lingo or Vonage. Am quite fascinated by the concept, and am thinking of using it. How does it work. I have wireless installed at my place too. Would there be a problem for the wireless router to get the IP address and stuff if the I connect the wireless router to Vonage/Lingo adapter, rather than dsl/cable modem

Any inputs appreciated.

[@@di]

If you are happy with your internet service, then give it a shot.
I think you can save a bundle with VoIP.
Two friends from work switched to Vonage and love it. They claim that most of the problems they have faced is due to poor internet service.
One of them says that he occasionally hears static, but its very rare.
The Cisco box they send you allows you to connect only one phone, but
you could put splitters on it to connet multiple phones.

If I had good internet service I would switch over ASAP.

[NSK]

I've used Vonage in the summer of 2003 and I loved it... Their customer service was also excellent.

But, you do need to have good internet connection. I had T1 from NTC at that time. There is also some round-about thing about 911 through Vonage; because it is through your internet they can't locate your home on their own if you use 911 (god forbid). You may want to check if that has changed.

[Matt]

I have Vonage as well as an entire VoIP PBX type system at home. No complaints, but like others have alluded to, with VoIP your phone is only as good as your Internet connection. On days when the Internet barely works and is slow, the phone won't be usable. Vonage will work fine through a "router" such as Linksys/Netgear.

You can actually connect the adapter back into your apartment wiring. Just make sure you aren't connected to the phone company. Every home and apartment should have a small box somewhere, where the wiring enters. Go to that box and disconnect yourself from the phone company. Even if you don't hear dial tone, you might still be connected to them. Once disconnected, just plug the adapter into any jack and all other jacks will work fine.

Or, the simpler solution is to buy one of those cordless phones with one base but a second "remote" handset/cradle. That is what I did. It only has to connect the main base to the VoIP adapter, and the extension handset in my bedroom doesn't need anything but electricity.

On my little mini-PBX, I can dial 9+ to call out on NTC, 8+ to call out on Vonage, 7+ to call out on Voicepulse (another VoIP provider), etc.

I also use VoIP to work from home. The office phone system is entirely VoIP based, so I simply brought an extra phone home and plugged it in. When someone calls my extension, it rings both at work and at the office...

[demiking]

OK, I am completely confused. let me see if I have a clue to what this VOIP is all about. If I currently have a NTC T1 line in my apartment, I can add this VOIP service (for how much???) and use it as a phone as well. I get that it is only as good as your computer service. How much is the initial installation, service and when you make regional and long distance calls? Or do you pay an initial fee and then all your calls are free because they are part of your monthly T1 fee? What would be my telephone number? See I told you I was confused.

[Matt]

For $30/month you get unlimited free calling to the entire United States and Canada. You can even take the little box anywhere in the world with you. You'll need the proper AC adapter, but if you take the little box and a phone with you to China, just plug into an Internet connection and your US phone number will ring there and you will have unlimited free calling to the US and Canada.

International calls are relatively cheap too. For example, calls to France and the UK are both $.03/minute. Only $1.80/hour. It wasn't that long ago that I remember signing up for a special deal with Sprint to get the super low low midnight rate of $.10/min for US to US toll calls. :)

You get to pick your area code. It doesn't matter where you live. They don't have service for all area codes though. I have service from several companies, and I have a local 201 number, a manhattan number, and a Houston number.

There is a $30 setup fee plus $10 shipping. If you decide to sign up, let someone refer you. The person referring you gets a month credit AND you get a month free for being referred. Installation is pretty simple. They mail you a box. Plug in the power. Plug in the network connection to your existing home LAN. Plug in a phone. Start making free calls. Total setup time, about 3 minutes. :)

[Gaga]

http://www.packet8.net

however you must be a nutcase to try use ip phones with newport t1 :D

[NSK]

While I liked Vonage, I had to disconnect the service last year because of NTC's sorry excuse for T1.

[PHXguy]

I have used Vonage for only 3 months and decided to cancel because of poor connection. My experience with their customer service is horrible. I only used the phone at nights when I was home, unfortunately Newport T1 was terrible at night time. As a result, I could never use the phone. Static all the time. My cell phone was actually better.
True you can plug the adapter to a router. I used wifi in the apartment and just plug it into one of the 4 available ports.
Overall, it is a good concept but just can't work yet with our existing internet service.

[Matt]

I guess it must have really deteriorated. I used Vonage over the NTC service for more than a year. However, I stopped using the NTC T1 around December of last year, so I don't know what it is like now.

I've been thinking about just cancelling NTC service alltogether. However, during the big power outage NTC was the only working phone service I had, so it was nice that day.

[demiking]

I would like to try Optimum because you can get your cable, telephone and internet service for less than $100 a month. I have heard that Comcast may be offering telephone service in the near future. We'll see.