95_stroker
Jefe
JohnBoyToo said:U caught that too
Vonage Telephone Service
- Thread starter 02SilverStroke
- Start date
02SilverStroke
Full Access Member
Got the Vonage service hooked up last night. It sure is clear. I called my mother in Louisiana, didn't even have to dial the "1". She said it was very clear. My question is to those who have had it for awhile - what's your monthly phone bill? I signed up for the $24.99 plan. I just want to be sure I'm not hit for a $35-$40 bill each month with "hidden" charges.
W4RLR
High Tech Hillbilly
I haven't received any big "hidden charges" but I get their full boat service, an unlimited line with a second fax line. Here's my monthly bill.02SilverStroke said:
Premium Unlimited Plan for 1-(321)-574-XXXX $24.99
Basic Residential FAX Plan for 1-(321)-574-XXXX $9.99
FET Tax $1.05
Regulatory Recovery Fee $3.00
________________________________________________
Total Amount $39.03
Basic Residential FAX Plan for 1-(321)-574-XXXX $9.99
FET Tax $1.05
Regulatory Recovery Fee $3.00
________________________________________________
Total Amount $39.03
TexasExcursion
GOD Bless America!
02SilverStroke said:
Sorry, must've missed the post with your question. As far as a security system goes, Vonage or any other Internet phone service is at a disadvantage unless the connection is hooked up to a sufficient back up power source. If not, an intruder could simply cut power to your house, thereby disabling the alarm--or at least notification of alarm to authorities.
My brother kept his landline specifically for this purpose. We don't have a house alarm, but perhaps there's a way around this issue that I'm not aware of.
As far as bills go, I've got the $14.99 plan (500 minutes) plus an unlimited fax line for $9.99, and my total bill is $28.39 a month. It pays for me to stick with the $14.99 plan unless I use over X minutes a month which would bring the voice line over $24.99 a month factoring in the rate of $14.99 plus so many cents per additional minute over 500 (do the math to figure out X).
Hope this helps.
Bruce
dpantazis
#12
Why are you getting vonage?
Those of you who are on broadband, are you getting a 'naked' dsl line (w/o phone service)? I did not think that you could get dsl circiut only.
If you are on pure wireless or cablemoden, without a land line, then yes vonage is the ticket for you. There are others too, Vonage has the best marketing campaign though. Packet8, SunRocket, Lingo... they are like cell cariers of old.
For those who HAVE to have a land line to get broadband, then FREE (as in beer) solution is avaialbe- SKYPE! IT WILL NOT DO 911 calls!
www.skype.com
Ebay bought them recently- though don't let that bother you. Ebay put up more cash than Warren Buffet and Google on the deal.
Anyhow, its basically free for username to username. If you cough up like $40/year you can get incoming line with voicemail to almost ANY area code or country. No 906, 907 though so Tailgunner and Crumm cant really get a 'local' line, but you dont really need to....
In my case, I pulled a number for a country and city code overseas where my relatives live, so to call me its a local call for them. They pulled a local number where I live so its a local call for me. We each use the last mile of copper at the other end of the call, get it? I pick up the landline phone and call them and it rings their skype account. Relatives w/o skype call the local number and it rings my skype account. If I am not home, it leaves a vm.
For those who are calling direct person to person like kids in college, or for those who travel, then username to username is ok.
Hardware is cheap. A typical headset is all that is needed. $20 gets you a handheld device. $100 gets you a pots converter to plug in your house phone. Its a smart box too, it figures out if the number you are calling is POTS line or skype line.
The other nice thing is that phone calls are encrypted, so big brother can't listen in. I don;t know about Vonage or others, but it would not surprise me if they were forced to put in a backdoor.
dennis
Those of you who are on broadband, are you getting a 'naked' dsl line (w/o phone service)? I did not think that you could get dsl circiut only.
If you are on pure wireless or cablemoden, without a land line, then yes vonage is the ticket for you. There are others too, Vonage has the best marketing campaign though. Packet8, SunRocket, Lingo... they are like cell cariers of old.
For those who HAVE to have a land line to get broadband, then FREE (as in beer) solution is avaialbe- SKYPE! IT WILL NOT DO 911 calls!
www.skype.com
Ebay bought them recently- though don't let that bother you. Ebay put up more cash than Warren Buffet and Google on the deal.
Anyhow, its basically free for username to username. If you cough up like $40/year you can get incoming line with voicemail to almost ANY area code or country. No 906, 907 though so Tailgunner and Crumm cant really get a 'local' line, but you dont really need to....
In my case, I pulled a number for a country and city code overseas where my relatives live, so to call me its a local call for them. They pulled a local number where I live so its a local call for me. We each use the last mile of copper at the other end of the call, get it? I pick up the landline phone and call them and it rings their skype account. Relatives w/o skype call the local number and it rings my skype account. If I am not home, it leaves a vm.
For those who are calling direct person to person like kids in college, or for those who travel, then username to username is ok.
Hardware is cheap. A typical headset is all that is needed. $20 gets you a handheld device. $100 gets you a pots converter to plug in your house phone. Its a smart box too, it figures out if the number you are calling is POTS line or skype line.
The other nice thing is that phone calls are encrypted, so big brother can't listen in. I don;t know about Vonage or others, but it would not surprise me if they were forced to put in a backdoor.
dennis
02SilverStroke
Full Access Member
Richard, thanks for the info. I don't have a fax line (yet), so I'll figure my bill will be $9.99 less than yours. That's a lot cheaper than the $65 to $85 I was paying.rray32539 said:
02SilverStroke
Full Access Member
Bruce thanks for the update. I've found a link on the security system's website (Brinks) that outlines how to connect the system to a VoIP system. It states that the connection can usually be fixed by a phone call, and they won't have to make a service call. I don't anticipate a problem with them. They've been really good, so far, and we've had them for almost a year. Had ADT before that and wasn't very pleased with them. Regarding your monthly bill, thanks for that info too. We probably would have been okay with the $14.99 plan but we went with the other plan due to the extra features. My youngest son who is a deputy sheriff researched Vonage pretty thoroughly before getting it himself. He's had it a couple of weeks and is well satisfied. It's gonna save him lots of bucks because his wife calls her parents every day and each call was long distance.TexasExcursion said:
