As most of you know, I recently moved back to OK.... finally able to get cable internet, very cool. Did I mention that I hate satellite?
Checked into Vonage, the Voice Over IP (voIP) "phone company". Problem is, there is some phone company here I've never heard of (TDS) and no long distance (local or otherwise) competition. Their LD rates are way high (Scooter's mom/family is 40 miles away and LD). Sprint and MCI both want $60/month for 1,000 minutes!
Long story short, I ordered-up Vonage. Package arrives in the mail that includes a router (netgear) and an ATA (Cisco)... simple instruction set. 15 minutes later I'm making local and long distance calls over the web, on my regular phone. Sound quality is superb. Voice mail, call waiting, forwarding, every feature imaginable. Voice mail emails me the voice mails when they arrive (the actual voice mail that I can listen to on the PC)... etc., etc.
I'll post back with more info as I use the system more, but having done my research, I can tell ya this is COOL stuff. You can pick any area code you want (actually OK is not on their list yet, but will be in the 1st qtr), I selected a Illinois area code for my number... all my FBI buds and family up there dial me as if I am a local number... ie; no LD charges :) You can add as many "virtual" numbers as you like for $4 a month... meaning you could setup numbers in several states so all your friends/family can call you for local calling charges. Sweet.
Oh and the $60 a month from Sprint and MCI? Add another $14 to that in various taxes, fees, etc. Vonage? 34.95 +1.50 (some federal tax). Period. Unlimited national calling and very low international rates.
If your cable connection tends to fail a lot, it won't be a good option. Even if it only goes down occasionally, most of us still have cell phones.
As soon as there are local OK area codes to pick, I'm shutting the "normal" phone off. Taking the month bill down from $27 for the basic line and $74 for 1,000 minutes of LD (total= $101 if there is no extra charge for LD minutes) to $36.45. That's $64 bucks a month the telcos aint gettin'!!
Okay, why am I taking the time to write all this.
Because;
PHONE COMPANIES SUCK!!
Checked into Vonage, the Voice Over IP (voIP) "phone company". Problem is, there is some phone company here I've never heard of (TDS) and no long distance (local or otherwise) competition. Their LD rates are way high (Scooter's mom/family is 40 miles away and LD). Sprint and MCI both want $60/month for 1,000 minutes!
Long story short, I ordered-up Vonage. Package arrives in the mail that includes a router (netgear) and an ATA (Cisco)... simple instruction set. 15 minutes later I'm making local and long distance calls over the web, on my regular phone. Sound quality is superb. Voice mail, call waiting, forwarding, every feature imaginable. Voice mail emails me the voice mails when they arrive (the actual voice mail that I can listen to on the PC)... etc., etc.
I'll post back with more info as I use the system more, but having done my research, I can tell ya this is COOL stuff. You can pick any area code you want (actually OK is not on their list yet, but will be in the 1st qtr), I selected a Illinois area code for my number... all my FBI buds and family up there dial me as if I am a local number... ie; no LD charges :) You can add as many "virtual" numbers as you like for $4 a month... meaning you could setup numbers in several states so all your friends/family can call you for local calling charges. Sweet.
Oh and the $60 a month from Sprint and MCI? Add another $14 to that in various taxes, fees, etc. Vonage? 34.95 +1.50 (some federal tax). Period. Unlimited national calling and very low international rates.
If your cable connection tends to fail a lot, it won't be a good option. Even if it only goes down occasionally, most of us still have cell phones.
As soon as there are local OK area codes to pick, I'm shutting the "normal" phone off. Taking the month bill down from $27 for the basic line and $74 for 1,000 minutes of LD (total= $101 if there is no extra charge for LD minutes) to $36.45. That's $64 bucks a month the telcos aint gettin'!!
Okay, why am I taking the time to write all this.
Because;
PHONE COMPANIES SUCK!!