Question for the home VoIP users

boss99

boss99

2[H]4U
Joined
Dec 29, 2006
Messages
2,652
I'm planning on making the plunge and getting rid of my landline for an Obi110.

Before I do so, I have some questions for those who have already bravely made the plunge into using VoIP as their home phone.

  1. What provider do you use and why?
  2. How are/did you handle 911? Are you going to rely solely on your cell phone?
  3. Did you port your home phone number your existing provider? I'm thinking about using a phone number parking service, but the best deal I found is for 7 bucks a month and they forward my calls to whatever number I choose. Keeping the same number is crucial as I do not want to change my phone number.

Thanks guys for your help.
 
1.) Viatalk.com
2.) They handle e911 as part of the package
3.) Mine was a new #

As far as to some other things you might want to know.

My deal is pretty decent, unlimited for 18 months = $199. Its not stellar, but its easily used. Around 1600 minutes a month of local and LD calls. If you're interested in Viatalk, let me know, I'll give you a referrel and you'll be able to get the same 18 months offer as I do, and yes, I'll get some loving from them in return.

Can it be had cheaper, yep, voip.ms is a per minute service, and if you're a low volume user, it's dirt cheap. US rates are basically 1.5 cents per minute.

1000 minutes a month = $15, thats when unlimited would eclipse pricing of the per minute, but if you're a 200-500 minute a month person, voip.ms is a good option.
 
1) Voip.ms
2) They handle e911 as an option on your DID (for a small monthly fee)
3) Yes, I ported a number. I also got a new one.

stiltner's comparison of unlimited vs pay-per-use is spot on. As our home phone almost never gets used, pay-per-use was my choice. Voip.ms does offer unlimited plans too, but I don't remember the price.
 
1. Vonage, mainly because I've used them for years and have no desire to switch
2. You register your location and they handle it, have cell and my business dsl line as backup though
3. Ported my old cell phone number, took about a week. They also provide me a local UK telephone number, so I have both UK and US calls going to the same line.
 
1) BroadVoice.com
2) e911 was free if I recall correctly. I definitely don't explicitly pay monthly for it.
3) Got a new number since I didn't have a number previously, but you can port it.

I have the unlimited in state calling package. Setup was like $60 where they provided me a device. I very, very rarely pay anything more than $20 a month, and that's after fees and taxes.

I did have problems setting it up at first (it turned out I was shipped a device with the incorrect firmware/settings) but they have some bright/helpful people working there. Seldomly, I will encounter a situation where the phone rings on the receiving end but not on the dialer. I'm not terribly bothered by it, but I thought I would mention it all the same.
 
With Voip.ms, setup was free and I rarely pay over $10/month - and that's with two DIDs, E911 and metered usage...most months its closer to $8.
 
1. Vitelity based on recommendation from a friend. Been using them for over 2 years with no complaints.
2. They handle e911
3. New numbers
 
Vonage.

Have had it for years and do not want to switch. If I do switch it will to just drop them and go with cell phones only.

Have a second number on the Vonage line to make it local for my wife's mom to call her.
 
I use vitelity for my home voip and they charge about $1-2/month extra for the e911. I ported my number from AT&T landline. Honestly I would not use them again. I use dedicated leased server or VPS for my VoIP. Vitelity had issues with SIP registration drop frequently. I was hosting PBX for a friend also using vitelity and they would drop the SIP registration to different vitelity servers. When I tried to resolve this their suggestion was use static IP which I want to avoid. I moved servers between different providers in the time I have had this service and the SIP registration drops always happen. Same servers run VoIP to other providers with SIP registration no issues ever.
 
What SIP providers are you using that aren't giving you problems? I've not had problems with them (I use them at home) but then my IP hasn't changed in probably 2 years and my VoIP server runs on the bare metal.
 
I use voip.ms and CallCentric- metered use on both. I only use CallCentric as a backup to voip.ms. Theis is a 1.05 cents/minute default rate from voip.ms available, I haven't had any problems with either.
 
We use cell phones but my wife got a majicjack with 5 years on it so I wired that into our house and phone lines to use for a fax line and long distance calls. Works pretty slick.
 
1) voip.ms
2) No e911 since I don't have a DID. For 911 I rely on my cell phones, or Verizon Home Phone Connect.
3) No
 
1) Omma
2) 911 works and if you move just update your profile so they know where to send help
3) They offer number forwarding but I read some people have had to wait 2 months for it to go through. So do your research. I got a new number, its like 25 bucks to transfer your phone.


Things I love about my Ooma its in my IT room with the rest for the network infrastructure. (a closet) I need 0 computers on for it to work. My alarm system, works through it, and all is hook up through a UPS to keep it running while power goes out. Been using it for a bit over a year now.
 
I use CallCentric here. Been with them for a few years, ever since Vonage turned into a regular telco and starting charging almost as much in fees as they do for the service itself. Not a single complaint with CallCentric and they do more than Vonage ever did from a feature perspective.

CallCentric offers e911. I haven't had to use it though, thankfully.

I ported my number. I think it was $25-30.
 
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