#159862 - 07/05/2003 17:30
Anyone have or have had vonage.
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 23/09/2000
Posts: 3608
Loc: Minnetonka, MN
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Has anyone had any experience with Vonage
I am thinking of getting their 25.99 plan I don't call long distance much so 500 minutes is plenty.
The advantage would be it is much cheaper than my local phone service not including long distance.
The only thing that is scaring me is they charge 30 dollars to connect it and for the hardware but they also charge 40 dollars if you want to disconnect the service. Also if the hardware fails you have to buy another one for 90 dollars.
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Matt
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#159863 - 07/05/2003 17:46
Re: Anyone have of have had vonage.
[Re: msaeger]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 23/09/2000
Posts: 3608
Loc: Minnetonka, MN
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I called them they do have a 14 day trial period.
But another bad thing they told me is that for the caller ID only the number shows up ? I wonder how good the caller ID works. I have to have caller ID too many calls from the roommates wacky family.
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Matt
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#159864 - 07/05/2003 18:14
Re: Anyone have of have had vonage.
[Re: msaeger]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 24/12/2001
Posts: 5528
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Don't know how it works in the US but all of the number lookup for caller ID is done locally here. Your caller ID box/phone would need to have a database of all the numbers you know programmed into it.
The Cisco ATA 186 is a normal H.323 & SIP VoIP adapter according to it's specifications. So if you can get the configuration details out of Vonage then you can use whatever adapter you want. (Assuming it supports H.323 & SIP and whatever codec Vonage actually uses)
- Trevor
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#159865 - 07/05/2003 18:22
Re: Anyone have of have had vonage.
[Re: tman]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 23/09/2000
Posts: 3608
Loc: Minnetonka, MN
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In the US (in minnesota at least) the caller ID info usually provides the name and number the info comes over the phone line. Sometimes I just get the number. I could do like you have to though I think the phone I have now supports that even.
Thats good to know that it is just a VoIP adaptor and not some goofy custom thing.
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Matt
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#159866 - 07/05/2003 21:55
Re: Anyone have of have had vonage.
[Re: msaeger]
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old hand
Registered: 17/07/2001
Posts: 721
Loc: Boston, MA USA
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I have Vonage. Just moved and decided that I wanted to have my home phone as cheap as possible, since I don't use it much. So far so good with the service, it was super easy to set up and get working and the calls are clear. The caller ID works just fine as far as I can tell. It even works on my Audrey that I have hooked up to it.
Advantages:
1. $26/month gets you all the calls you need to make
2. All the features too: call waiting, voicemail (online), you can even get an email telling you that you have a voicemail
3. Take your phone number with you if you move (I couldn't care less though)
4. You don't have to pay Verizon a damn thing.
Disadvantages:
1. No electricity = no phone
2. Your crappy internet provider goes down, so does your phone.
3. Questionable 911 service. I say questionable because you have to call Vonage to tell them your physical address so that when you call 911 they can tell the cops where to find your dead body. (or something like that)
Oh and about the $30 start up cost...
Go here and it will sign you up as a referral and you get your second month of service for free (I think. That's how I signed up)
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//matt
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#159867 - 07/05/2003 22:22
Re: Anyone have of have had vonage.
[Re: ithoughti]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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Questionable 911 service All phones lines in the US, to my understanding, are required to be able to dial 911, even disconnected lines.
So keep a phone plugged into the disconnected circuit for emergencies.
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Bitt Faulk
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#159868 - 07/05/2003 22:47
Re: Anyone have of have had vonage.
[Re: ithoughti]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 23/09/2000
Posts: 3608
Loc: Minnetonka, MN
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I went ahead and singed up for it. Thanks for the reassurance that it works ok. I'm in about the same situation as you I don't use the phone much so I want it cheap. Except I get to avoid qwest instead of verizon. Also I hate all the asinine taxes on the phone service.
How long did they take to send the hardware to you ? I will probably wait awhile before canceling the qwest phone service.
The 911 stuff sounds pretty crappy but I have a cell phone too so I can always just use it. They must be pretty worried about getting sued over that because there are at least a half a dozen warnings about 911 service throughout the sign up process.
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Matt
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#159869 - 07/05/2003 23:02
Re: Anyone have or have had vonage.
[Re: msaeger]
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old hand
Registered: 12/01/2000
Posts: 1079
Loc: Dallas, TX
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How good is the voice quality on vonage?
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#159870 - 08/05/2003 07:05
Re: Anyone have of have had vonage.
[Re: msaeger]
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old hand
Registered: 17/07/2001
Posts: 721
Loc: Boston, MA USA
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They sent the hardware to me in 3 days I think. So far the voice quality is great. I've heard that if you have a slowish connection, and tons of activity on the line at the same time you are making a call, the quality might be a bit off, but my connection is great so I'm not too worried.
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//matt
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#159871 - 08/05/2003 08:09
Re: Anyone have of have had vonage.
[Re: ithoughti]
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enthusiast
Registered: 06/03/2003
Posts: 269
Loc: Wellingborough, UK
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I have a friend who had this service, but cancelled it because their ISP didn't prioritise voice traffic - so this might be something you want to check.
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#159872 - 08/05/2003 11:23
Re: Anyone have of have had vonage.
[Re: ithoughti]
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enthusiast
Registered: 05/09/2000
Posts: 210
Loc: Ipswich, MA
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I just signed up as well.
The referal service is a bit shady, and I'm not sure who I just gave a free month to.
But I just got a free month!
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John Turner
"It's easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission"
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#159873 - 08/05/2003 22:23
Re: Anyone have of have had vonage.
[Re: jwtadmin]
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old hand
Registered: 17/07/2001
Posts: 721
Loc: Boston, MA USA
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Ok, if anyone else is going to sign up for this, PLEASE email or PM me so I can get a nice referal too.
thanks
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//matt
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#159874 - 04/01/2005 17:36
Re: Anyone have of have had vonage.
[Re: ithoughti]
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enthusiast
Registered: 15/02/2002
Posts: 314
Loc: New Hampshire, USA
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I'm considering doing this. I see this thread is a bit dated. Have any new info on quality, service, etc.? I don't use the phone to much so this seems like a good deal. At this point you can get the hardware for free, not sure about costs when signing up.
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Doug
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#159875 - 04/01/2005 17:41
Re: Anyone have of have had vonage.
[Re: wfaulk]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/03/2000
Posts: 12318
Loc: Sterling, VA
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Quote:
Quote:
Questionable 911 service
All phones lines in the US, to my understanding, are required to be able to dial 911, even disconnected lines.
So keep a phone plugged into the disconnected circuit for emergencies.
Just to add, this is why I keep my 6 year old Sprint cell phone in the glove box. I charged it about 6 months ago, turned it off, and stuck it in my car. It's good to know that I can have access to 911 if I need to, in case my usual phone is dead or isn't on me. i just turned it on the other day, and it still had full power.
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Matt
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#159876 - 04/01/2005 18:47
Re: Anyone have of have had vonage.
[Re: phi144]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 30/10/2000
Posts: 4931
Loc: New Jersey, USA
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Recently I cut-off my house from the public telephone network and wired the whole thing with Vonage on the $14.99/month plan. The voice sounds fine and I was able to get my Series2 DirecTivos to make their daily call over Vonage. The Series 1 units wouldn't do it though, not even when throttled-down to 19.2k. I had to hook them up with TurboNet to make the daily call over ethernet. Overall, I am very happy. $16 (tax inc.) per month for 500 minutes + all calling features is much better than $50+ per month for 0 minutes and caller ID.
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-Rob Riccardelli
80GB 16MB MK2 090000736
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#159877 - 04/01/2005 18:57
Re: Anyone have of have had vonage.
[Re: robricc]
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enthusiast
Registered: 15/02/2002
Posts: 314
Loc: New Hampshire, USA
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I didn't think of my Tivos. Both are wireless at the moment but I was planning of going back to the phone line for one of them. What do I need to think about before doing that? I have Series2 Tivos.
Edited by phi144 (04/01/2005 18:58)
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Doug
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#159878 - 04/01/2005 19:04
Re: Anyone have of have had vonage.
[Re: robricc]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/03/2000
Posts: 12318
Loc: Sterling, VA
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Pardon me, but I don't really know how this voip stuff works. Would I be able to connect via dialup modem over it? Every third week of my job I'm on call, and during that time I have a laptop on me that I can use for remote access to my company network. Sadly, I have to do this over dialup, so it's going to suck that I'll need to pay for a landline service that I'll never use, just because there's a chance I may need to connect from this laptop to a toll free number.
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Matt
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#159879 - 04/01/2005 19:27
Re: Anyone have of have had vonage.
[Re: phi144]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 30/10/2000
Posts: 4931
Loc: New Jersey, USA
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Quote:
I didn't think of my Tivos. Both are wireless at the moment but I was planning of going back to the phone line for one of them. What do I need to think about before doing that? I have Series2 Tivos.
This worked for me and others. I don't think it's guaranteed to work, but there is something with this dial-in number that is VoIP-friendly. Before taking your house off of POTS service, change your dial-in number to 212-920-3005 (Manhattan North). That should be it. No other * or ,# codes are needed with that number and has worked every single time for me. The old number in New City, NY I used to call didn't work and neither does the toll-free number tivo calls to get dial-in numbers for your specified area code. The ~monthly call to DirecTV should work since it's always placed at only 9600bps. I don't know if this call was made yet though, so I'm not 100% on that. If that call doesn't go through you will have to order PPV from directv.com.
Quote:
Pardon me, but I don't really know how this voip stuff works. Would I be able to connect via dialup modem over it?
Probably as long as you can lower the modem's speed. 14.4k should work everytime if you dial *99 before the number. It will definitely work if you pay an $10 per month for a fax line with Vonage. If it doesn't you can yell at them. 14.4k should be the highest speed you can hope to accomplish though.
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-Rob Riccardelli
80GB 16MB MK2 090000736
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#159880 - 04/01/2005 19:42
Re: Anyone have or have had vonage.
[Re: msaeger]
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addict
Registered: 29/06/2002
Posts: 531
Loc: Triangle, VA
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I purchased the linksys box for VoIP for Vonage at bestBuy. No setup costs for the account and I think I got a free month as well. The quality I had to knock down using their bandwidth saver to the middle option cause I would get calls randomly drop but after lowering it I have had no problems. Now the calls sound like a very good cell phone call. and I get caller id information (name and number) for just about everyone think i have had only one that was hidden cause someone did the whole *something code to block it. Over all I like it and will stay with it. Oh and I have comcast cable internet. I also have been on the phone while 2 computers are playing internet games and had file transfers going at same time. I would highly suggest using it.
_________________________
-D
Modifying and Tweaking is a journey,
not a destination................................
MKIIa : 60gig - 040103286 - Blue - v2 + PCATS tuner
MKIIa : 20gig - 040103260 - Blue - v3a8 + Mark Lord Special Edition Cherry Dock
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#159881 - 04/01/2005 19:56
Re: Anyone have of have had vonage.
[Re: phi144]
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veteran
Registered: 21/01/2002
Posts: 1380
Loc: Erie, CO
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I have AT&T CallVantage, which is almost the same as Vonage. I had a few problems at the beginning with packet loss - turns out my cable modem was a bad model. It can be difficult to work a problem with two companies (VoIP provider and ISP) but if you keep on top of things it turns out ok. Some cable companies are bundling voice deals in with internet service, Time Warner and AT&T have this deal in my area. Just compare prices and features, I especially like the web-based controls for my phone service. I can get my voicemail e-mailed to me, or have all my calls forwarded to my mobile, etc.
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#159882 - 04/01/2005 21:59
Re: Anyone have or have had vonage.
[Re: msaeger]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 05/01/2001
Posts: 4903
Loc: Detroit, MI USA
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I was just researching this today, but this thread didn't come up in a "+voice +over" search...
Has anyone heard anything about www.lingo.com ? They seems a bit cheaper - $19.99 unlimited (+tax) and have the same features... They say that includes unlimted calls to US, Canada and Western Europe.
Quote:
Western European subscription includes calls from Lingo subscriber to the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Ireland, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, Austria, Luxembourg, Vatican City, Norway, Portugal, and Spain. Calls to mobile phones, premium and special service numbers in these areas are not included. US includes AK, HI, PR, USVI and calls to cellular phones.
Edited by SE_Sport_Driver (04/01/2005 22:01)
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Brad B.
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#159883 - 04/01/2005 23:24
Re: Anyone have or have had vonage.
[Re: SE_Sport_Driver]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 12/11/2001
Posts: 7738
Loc: Toronto, CANADA
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BroadvoxDirect $19.99 Unlimited usage for all North Americsan exchanges, with all calling features (plus a second number in the same or different area code) and no tax. At least no tax for me because I'm in Canada and they're out of a specific state. Very well-prices long distance for the rest of the world too.
The biggest thing to be careful about is QoS (Quality of Service) management on your network. If you follow their instructions and connect the ATA to your modem and the rest of your network behind it, there shouldn't be a problem. It handles QoS and doesn't do Double-NAT (I was worried about this at first and went with a different configuration). If you connect the ATA after your broadband router then you really have to make sure you have QoS on your router. Otherwise other traffic over the router *WILL* interfere with the voice packets.
Bruno
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#159884 - 05/01/2005 00:19
Re: Anyone have of have had vonage.
[Re: phi144]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 23/09/2000
Posts: 3608
Loc: Minnetonka, MN
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Well I have had it since posting this thread and it works fine. The complaint I had about the caller ID has been fixed and now they show the name and number.
I have it set on the highest quality setting and I have road runner for my ISP. I currently have the unlimited plan but I probably could get by with the 14.99 one. Time warner sent me an ad for their VoIP service and they want 40 dollars a month for unlimited calling good freaking lord who would pay that.
For the series one tivo there is a hack you can to to make it connect via the serial port connected to a pc.
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Matt
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#159885 - 05/01/2005 00:29
Re: Anyone have or have had vonage.
[Re: SE_Sport_Driver]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 30/10/2000
Posts: 4931
Loc: New Jersey, USA
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Quote:
Has anyone heard anything about www.lingo.com ? They seems a bit cheaper - $19.99 unlimited (+tax) and have the same features... They say that includes unlimted calls to US, Canada and Western Europe.
I first heard about lingo in this thread. Most poor experiences seem to be with customer service.
My housemate has Packet8 and likes it. He had that before I moved to Vonage, so I considered signing up with them. Unfortunately, I was totally unable to get any Tivo to dial over thier service. It's unfortunate because for only $20 you get unlimited calling from them (US and Canada).
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-Rob Riccardelli
80GB 16MB MK2 090000736
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#159886 - 05/01/2005 05:04
Re: Anyone have or have had vonage.
[Re: msaeger]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 27/06/1999
Posts: 7058
Loc: Pittsburgh, PA
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After doing some research, I found that VoicePulse is the best thing going right now, at least for my needs. I found this table useful in comparing the services, though the metrics towards the end overstate the case for how much better it is than Vonage. In terms of pure value, I think VoicePulse has the edge, especially when you look at all the features they throw in. They sent me a Sipura SPA-2000 ATA at no charge, though I think I have to return it to them if I don't keep it for like a year or something, and it's "locked" to their service (though the 2nd port is free for some other service.) Caller ID shows up name and number (which you can customize if you don't like what the phone company is sending) and it displays fine on my Caller ID phone and DirecTV receiver. Faxes and modems tend not to work over VoIP, but some people have had success after dropping fax/modem baud rates and tweaking codecs of the VoIP connection. FWIW, my service has been good so far, but I would only use VoIP as your only phone if you're confident in your ISP. If your broadband connection is flaky or inconsistent, your voice service will be also.
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#159887 - 05/01/2005 05:49
Re: Anyone have of have had vonage.
[Re: Dignan]
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member
Registered: 09/06/1999
Posts: 106
Loc: Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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With vonage's settings adjusted to the highest speed, I connected at over 40Kb/s on a modem. From the middle east to the US. So, I'd say it works fairly well.  I'm extremely happy with the quality otherwise, btw.
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Fly me to the moon...
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#159888 - 05/01/2005 12:54
Re: Anyone have of have had vonage.
[Re: msaeger]
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addict
Registered: 24/08/1999
Posts: 564
Loc: TX
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The scary part about TimeWarner pricing is that the 40 bucks doesn't even include voicemail ! They want to charge you another 5 bucks for that.
I too have vonage and have not had any problems.
Two friends have tried lingo.
The first tried it a while ago and had all sorts of problems and cancelled.
The second tried it in October and still has it now. But he is like me and frequently calls England so the free western europe pricing is unbeatable.
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the chewtoy for the dog of Life
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#159889 - 05/01/2005 14:02
Re: Anyone have of have had vonage.
[Re: rmitz]
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addict
Registered: 23/12/2002
Posts: 652
Loc: Winston Salem, NC
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Quote:
With vonage's settings adjusted to the highest speed, I connected at over 40Kb/s on a modem. From the middle east to the US.
I'd be interested in that. I was wondering about making calls from the Middle East.
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#159890 - 05/01/2005 16:18
Re: Anyone have of have had vonage.
[Re: Cybjorg]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 12/11/2001
Posts: 7738
Loc: Toronto, CANADA
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A lot of people don't even pick up on that. The "phone line" is portable. Your number exists anywhere you connect the ATA (the phone adapter). If you know you need to make a lot of regular calls to a specific place, get multiple subscriptions and then send one of the ATAs to that place. Calls between customers of the same VOIP service are typically free, so you can get that second subscription on the lowest plan too. Get it with your current local area code and you can even call it from an outside line without long distance charges. Take it with you to the hotel and plug it into their broadband. Now when someone calls you at home, you still get the call. Doesn't costt them anything extra and it costs you only the broadband connection fee at the hotel (which you'd already be using to surf for porn, etc. ) Bruno
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#159891 - 05/01/2005 18:11
Re: Anyone have of have had vonage.
[Re: Cybjorg]
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member
Registered: 09/06/1999
Posts: 106
Loc: Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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Well, it's just a connection to a server over the internet, essentially, so anywhere in the world is fine. however, you do need to make sure your provider isn't filtering it (typically they do here) or you can VPN back to somewhere in the US first...
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Fly me to the moon...
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