Voip

[kaybee]

I need help setting up VOIP for my small business. I've checked on several providers and would love input on selecting best price and service.

 

Anybody have pro/con experiences and criteria for getting started?

I'd really appreciate any help.

Kaybee

[TCH-Don]

Welcome to the forums Kaybee

there was a post about vanage recently that may help.

[TCH-Thomas]

Welcome to the forum, Kaybee.

[TCH-Bruce]

Welcome to the forums Kaybee

[TCH-Tim]

Welcome to the forums Kaybee.

 

I know some TCH staffers use Vonage, so hopefully they will chime in with their thoughts....

[abinidi]

Hi Kaybee,

 

Welcome to the forums.

 

I don't use VOIP because I have DSL (through the phone company), but if I were to choose a VOIP provider, It would probably be Vonage. I have a number of acquaintences who use Vonage, and they love it.

 

The trickiest thing that one of my friends discovered is that you basically only have one phone jack, so you'll only have one physical phone that works on the system. If you want to have multiple phones that work, you have to do some rewiring or use cordless phones that have multiple handsets with one base station.

 

Hope that helps.

[j2k4b]

Welcome to the forums, Kaybee!

[Deverill]

you basically only have one phone jack, so you'll only have one physical phone that works on the system. If you want to have multiple phones that work, you have to do some rewiring or use cordless phones that have multiple handsets with one base station.

 

When I went to Vonage I put my interface unit where the cable/computer was and then disconnected the phone line going to the rest of the house where it plugged into Bell South's line and ran it to the interface. That way the whole rest of the house worked as normal.

[abinidi]

I indended that to be included under my "some rewiring" clause

 

No, really, I think it is important for people to realize that their phone setup will have to be modified to some extent so that all the regular lines function as expected.

[TCH-Tim]

I just got my Vonage phone today. Opted for the UTStarcom F1000 Wifi phone. It's the size of a solid cell phone and doesn't come with an extra router or anything. It will automatically scan for any open wireless access point, or you can pre-set up to four specific AP's. And it supports WEP and WPA-PSK. Setup was a piece of cake.

 

Been making calls on it all day and I'm liking it. Quality is as good as if not better than my cell phone. Haven't had a land line in years so I can't really compare it to that.

 

First impression - it is good.

[abinidi]

Way cool.

 

Keep us informed on how you like it / how it goes.

[TCH-Don]

Tim, what happens when the power goes out with no land line?

When this happened in Feburary for three days, the local cell towers went down too.

I had to use the land line for long distance

[TCH-Tim]

If the power goes out, I enjoy the peace and quiet.

 

Or I drive over to one of the many casinos with backup generators and their own cell towers.

[Samrc]

Welcome to the forums Kaybee!

 

 

Re: Don's post: Tim, what happens when the power goes out with no land line?

In my area, I rarely can get cell inside the house and though my cable connection is steady, it has gone out more often than my land line... During the storms the last couple years, that landline was a god-send.

[makaveli]

skype, vonage etc always do say its not intended as a land line replacement, for emergencies, vonages do uk do anyways) allow SOS calls, skype dont and location based tracking is not availible, if you call 999 (911) from land or on mobile the Emergency services can track where you are im just using skype as its occasional.

 

what really and its hard to say this without swearing, but what annoys me is the extortinate rates to uk mobiles (+447) i can call someones cell (mobile) in NYC cheaper than the mobile that is in my pocket merely inches away....

i do like the inclusion of no charge toll 0800 (1800 US) calls

Edited May 2, 2006 by makaveli

[TCH-JimE]

Welcome to the forums Kaybee.

 

My suggestion would be Skype. I know of several people who use this on a 512K line and it sounds as if they are in the next room!

 

JimE

[chatbug]

I have been using Skype for several months, and I haven't had too much trouble with it. I am using cable internet, and the voice quality is very good. Sometimes, even when I'm not using the internet for anything else, there is a 0.5-1 second lag... which can be irritating. I have been disconnected for no apparently reason for a couple of times as well. But for the cheap rate calling internationally, I am willing to compromise on the service quality... which I'm not sure if you would like in a business setting.

 

I have only used Skype before, so I can't comment on other services. But, as mentioned before, the problem with VoIP or online telephony like Skype is the need for power to use the service, and lack of emergency dialing. It would be best to always have a landline or cell/mobile phone backup.

 

Cheers,

[Deverill]

Skype is good if you are going to be the one to use it. In my case my mom, who is in the best of health, lives with me so I opted for Vonage for the "normal telephone" interface. They do have a 911 emergency dial ability but in many cases, if they can't verify your street on a map for instance, they will ask you where you are when you call them - not really good in an emergency. In my case I moved into a newly built neighborhood so the road didn't show up on mapquest (the one they use) so I had to register 3 times and after it defaulted the 3rd time they manually entered the address. Kinda lame but it's workable.

 

As for power outages, it's a toss-up here anyway with the storms/hurricanes that come through. Sometimes the cable works but not the phone. Sometimes enither work. I have a generator to keep the router running (and other stuff of course) so I guess my odds are as good or as bad with Vonage as with the phone company. During this last hurricane (Wilma) it was nice to be unreachable by work and annoying friends

[makaveli]

what i do like about skype is the skypeIN buuuut, they aint got my local code (for the UK, they have london, manchester and glasgow) but i need my city really, then i would be interested in getting it

 

if they also reduced cell calls to UK lines id be very happy, 35p (60 or more cents) per min is a rip off!! its cheaper then to use my cell phone to call people!

[stevevan]

As for power outages, it's a toss-up here anyway with the storms/hurricanes that come through. Sometimes the cable works but not the phone. Sometimes enither work. I have a generator to keep the router running (and other stuff of course) so I guess my odds are as good or as bad with Vonage as with the phone company. During this last hurricane (Wilma) it was nice to be unreachable by work and annoying friends

That's one of the issues that keeps me from going with Vonage. I've heard (and been told) that Vonage doesn't work too well with DSL. During our hurricanes, cable goes out more than the phone. In fact, during Ivan, we only lost the phone for about 6 hours. During Katrina, cable was the only thing that went out and that lasted for almost a week!