Best VOIP Service?

TechLarry

TechLarry

RIP [H] Brother - June 1, 2022
Joined
Aug 9, 2005
Messages
30,481
Couldn't find a better forum for this so...

Who has the best VOIP service these days?

I mistakenly changed from AT&T CallVantage to my Cable Companies (Cox) phone service. I was lied to several times (i.e. it's not tied to my internet service, which it is. I will not lose phone service when my internet goes down, which it does, etc...)

Also, the web management features are extremely weak comparted to other VOIP services I've seen.

I would go back to CallVantage, but they are apparantly closing up shop and are not accepting new customers any longer.

Specifically, I need:

1. Excellent call quality. I would like the ability to change my bandwidth assignment for the VOIP service, so I can kick it up, as I have tons of bandwidth available.

2. Second-to-none web management features.

3. Auto email of call messages.

4. Multiple phone numbers and voice mails (I need 2).

5. No nagging about using it for telecommuting work from home.

6. Coverage in all 50 states (Hawaii and Alaska must be included).

7. The VOIP router must work behind a NAT router. I will never put any device between my cable modem and primary router!

I've googled around for reviews, but there don't seem to be any recent one's. Every one I found is 1-2 years old, or older, and has companies listed that aren't even in business any more.

I'd also like to avoid companies that are also local telecoms. The reason is these companies are required to tack on all these state and local taxes, which can raise the per-line price close to $10 a month. The independents don't have to do this.
 
I use teliax for my moms non-profit VoIP line. It has a few nice features on the web control panel. They have a couple of different proxys in different areas of the united states, but i am not to sure about Hawaii and Alaska. They have great support and we use the $5 a month pay as you go plan for a local number and then they charge you so much per minute based on the distance. They also have plans for residential and business.
 
I've had Vonage for a while now, 3 + years. Never had any trouble. Their device works fine behind my Cisco 871 router, running NAT of course. Their web interface is decent, although I don't spend a ton of time in it. It also emails me all my voicemail messages, with the message a .wav attachment. We're on the $14.99 plan and rarely even go close to our number of minutes.
 
Dunno if it meets all your requirements, but after using a few, I'm on Vonage, and happy with them.

Call quality is typical for VoIP. IMO, and based on my experience, most of the call quality is based on the quality of your internet connection, and your broadband router. A slower internet connection on a household with a heavily used internet connection (the kid is torrenting or online gaming)....with a lesser grade router...no matter WHO you use for VoIP..it will be choppy. I've also played with lots and lots of different routers at home, always switching out stuff every several months just to dork around with new ones. But I'm most happy with a *nix distro called PFSense. It has superior traffic shaping/QoS, pre-canned settings for VoIP services, which prioritizes it over other types of traffic. This keeps my online gaming and VoIP top notch no matter what the wife 'n kids are doing online.

Anyways, back to Vonage..yeah, the box they ship you will sit behind your own router just fine.

Their support is quite good, I've called a few times for stuff, they impressed me with the service provided while taking over my number from my prior carrier.

And, heck, they're cheap enough. Even when comparing against many ISPs "triple play" packages.
 
I had sunrocket for 2 years then they went belly up. I switched to Vonage and have had 0 problems. the only time I don't have service is when the power or internet is out, which is about two to three times every 6 months. I am on the 14.99 plan, but have unlumited phone service. and they gave me 2 free months. This is my second year first year it was 24.99 for unlimited. My one gripe is my caller ID does not always show up correct for the people that I call.
steve
 
Vonage is at the top of my list, but there is one problem.

Their TOS seems to ban use of the service for Telecommuting, requiring you to get the business package. And if you get the $25 home package and they find you are using it for any sort of work, the automatically change you over to the $50 package AND back-bill you for any months previously used, applying the $50 rate.

That's the only show-stopper with them.

YeOldeStonecat said:
Dunno if it meets all your requirements, but after using a few, I'm on Vonage, and happy with them.

Call quality is typical for VoIP. IMO, and based on my experience, most of the call quality is based on the quality of your internet connection, and your broadband router. A slower internet connection on a household with a heavily used internet connection (the kid is torrenting or online gaming)....with a lesser grade router...no matter WHO you use for VoIP..it will be choppy. I've also played with lots and lots of different routers at home, always switching out stuff every several months just to dork around with new ones. But I'm most happy with a *nix distro called PFSense. It has superior traffic shaping/QoS, pre-canned settings for VoIP services, which prioritizes it over other types of traffic. This keeps my online gaming and VoIP top notch no matter what the wife 'n kids are doing online.

Anyways, back to Vonage..yeah, the box they ship you will sit behind your own router just fine.

Their support is quite good, I've called a few times for stuff, they impressed me with the service provided while taking over my number from my prior carrier.

And, heck, they're cheap enough. Even when comparing against many ISPs "triple play" packages.
Click to expand...
 
Packet8 has been good for business purposes in my case so far. Their features are hardly cutting edge, but it is stable and sounds as good as a POTS line with QoS enabled.
 
Rats, Packet8 has that same residential-use-only nonsense in their TOC :(
 
Check into Voice Pulse. I have them and the service is great. Their website isn't as flashy as others but the service is better. For example for the $14.99 plan I get unlimited incoming, and unlimited calls to my 'local' area which is actually half the state of Michigan, then 200 minutes beyond that for calls outside the local area. I never pay more than the $14.99 a month. Features are awesome too, love getting my voicemails emailed to me as wav files.
 
I will check into it. thanks!

I do need unlimited as my telecommute line will get hit with about 2500 to 4000 min a month depending...
 
I have used Vonage pretty much since they were a small start-up spitting in the eye of Ma'Bell and have been recommending them for years. I have three lines through them at the moment, including two voice and a dedicated fax line. They run to two individual D-Link VTA devices that sit behind my router and they work beautifully.
 
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