VoIP Review: Vonage
VoIP Review: Vonage
I have used Vonage for a little over two years now and must say it has been a pleasant experience. Their basic rate is $25, but I pay an additional $10 for a second number on the same line. Two major things tend to stand out to me when I consider my experience with this VoIP provider.
The first point relates to sound quality. When I first got the service I thought the sound quality was comparable to “ma bell”, except when I was using the internet intensely (using file-sharing while watching YouTube) in which case the other party reported I sounded garbled. This may have actually been an issue with my router, though, because I changed routers ten months ago and haven’t had issues in about a year. What some people may not notice, though, is when you call someone else with Vonage. I honestly believe the quality to be crystal clear in such cases. There’s less distortion than on phone lines. When you hear a TV or talking in the background, the voices remain distinct. Another case I have for better sound quality is when calling my friends abroad. They no longer sound a mile away due to signal loss. I almost never get a bad connection now and I would say that in those rare occasions I would have to blamed it on the Egyptian telecommunications, because what few times I do get static it’s usually during the afternoon in Cairo. If you have pen-pals abroad, this service is a must-have. The other issue or lack there of would be regarding usage charges.
Though I only just started getting free calling globally (and still at the same low price which I’ve paid without a rate hike for twenty-six months), I’ve experienced significant international savings throughout my history with Vonage. My former phone provider, MCI, could charge me as much as $80 a month for the limited calling I placed to my old college friends in Egypt and Ireland. As soon as I got my first Vonage bill, I noticed the huge difference, at all times paying less than a dollar a minute for international calling, even to rural places that most providers charge an arm and leg to call. Now, I can call for hours without a worry or care. I haven’t had to worry about long distance charges since even before Vonage, but, with MCI, I was paying nearly $75 for unlimited long distance.
I would definitely recommend anyone looking into VoIP to give Vonage a try.
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VoIP Adapter
Voice over Internet Protocol, also know as VoIP for short, is a convenient way to get telephone service if you have a high speed Internet connection available to you in your house. VoiP services are a great option because they are generally very low priced even when making international calls. In order to successfully utilize a VoIP you will need a VoIP adapter in order to get your VoIP service up and running. Thankfully most companies that over VoIP services provide an adapter. It may or may not be at additional cost.
One of the most common types of VoIP adapters are analog telephony adaptors, also known as ATA for short. You will be able to use this device to connect a certain number of phones to a digital telephone system, usually two to four phones. This means they these adaptors are perfect if you use VoIP. Since you are able to connect multiple phones to this adaptor you’ll be able to connect every single phone in your house up to one line. If you’re a business owner you may very well need to purchase multiple adapters in order to connect all your phones to a VoIP service if your business is large. However, for the general user and a small business one adapter is usually sufficient.
It is very common for analog telephony adapters to be the VoIP adapters for many companies that provide VoIP services. These adapters are used in order to allow a user to replace their traditional telephone line with a voice over IP network. Often times when receiving an adapter from any given company they are locked so they you are unable to use it with any other competing VoIP service. Usually the user is able to make miner changes to the adapter, but the amount of control given is extremely limited. In order to find VoIP adapters that are usable with any VoIP service provider you will need to search for adapters that are unlocked.
Some service providers sell these types of adapters, but because it is a competitive market usually you will only be able to purchased locked adapters. The absolute best place to purchase unlocked VoIP adapters is over the Internet. There are many reliable stores online to purchase these adapters. A quick search will probably yield hundreds of results. It is up to you, the consumer, to make the best decision about which adaptors to purchase and from what store. If you are not up for shopping online for them usually you can find adapters in retail stores.
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VoIP Review: Lingo
I was a Lingo customer for three years. They offered attractive international packages at amazing prices, cheaper then any other VOIP Phone Systems they were competing with at the time. I chose them after reading a VoIP review in an electronic magazine.
Within a year customer services had moved to Canada and the price went up but the Canadian customer service was also very strong. I had occasion to call them to hard reset my modem a couple of times due to cable or power outages which would throw the lingo box out and burnt out one of the ports as well. They were patient knowledgeable; taught me things I could do on my own to avoid customer service and succinct.
The actual VoIP phone services was good the phone line was clear and worked as if it was a real phone line with the exception of when the cable was acting up. About a year after this the price went up dramatically, customer service was moved offshore to India and Lingo became part of the problem instead of the wonderful solution it had been for two years prior.
The customer service agents were no longer free thinking technically apt English speakers but Indian script readers who were confused and bewildered if you tried to take them off topic or expressed any urgency or disinterest in going through the troubleshooting routine they were trained to do because you had already done it.
The modem completely burnt out and I had to fight with them to get another one sent out; it took an hour and fifteen minutes. The quality of the phone line seemed to waver a lot after the offshore move as well. I would dial a number and get a recording or an instant busy signal as if the number was out of order which was not the case as I would call the number on my cell phone and it work.
I started only using the line for incoming calls and buzzer phone calls. After many attempts at dealing with the customer service department and the line consistently deteriorating while prices were being raised again I gave up and closed my account with them and solely used my cell phone from then on.
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