Anyone using VOIP exclusively for home phone?

My husband uses it for his business, we have no hard line for that.

It costs us about £6 a month, including calls, so about er $8?

Never had a problem with it, ever, unless our broadband is down obviously!

Used Vonage. Had some problems with the provider and calls. However, I'm told that's worked out. Probably would get it again and MAY get it here in Germany.

There's also Skype. That could help you cut down on costs, if that's the tack to be taken. Skype's how Deedee, Annabelle and I speak once a night and it's great.

Hope you're well, Perks.

I have mine w/ my cable and internet company. It works out to about $15. a month to be able to call anywhere in the country, regardless of time, etc. Same thing, though if broadband is down, but that happens rarely.

We use www.magicjack.com You have to have high-speed, and of course, your computer has to be booted 24/7.

Has all the bells and whistles (call holding/forwarding/3-way, etc) and for $20.00 a year. Best part is they haven’t figured out to tax it yet! Also, International rates are like a penny a minute.

Downsides - even locally, it’s a ten-digit dial, but you get used to that. And, no fax capabilities. Most times, folk will accept documents as an attachment in an email. If not, it’s off to the local copy center.

We’re satisfied with it and fiscally happy that we’ve made the switch.


p.s. neglected to mention that its inclusive for unlimited local and long distance dialing.

Be aware that your 911 calls are handled differenly with VOIP and Vonage and other cable phone systems. They do not go directly to the 911 centre. A few months ago there was a story on the news about a baby that died because the cable phone system dropped the 911 calls. I think it happened in Calgary.

So talk to the provider and find out exactly how they handle the 911 calls if you're not going to have a cell phone. If you do have a cell phone I would recommend you use it to call 911 instead of the phone. I hope you never have to phone 911 of course, but it's better to be prepared.

I had Vonage for a while -- great, and much cheaper than a land line. I now only use my cell and have a Google Voice number.

As far as I know, Vonage goes to the 911 center but you have to register your number.

MagicJack does something completely different. So if you value your 911 service, you may want to take that into consideration.

I have no land line, just my cell phone.

My girlfriend and I skype each other... video chat for free is the best price of all.

dclary said:

My girlfriend and I skype each other... video chat for free is the best price of all.

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your "girlfriend". yea.....



here's a tip, dave: dont ever believe camgirls when they say they won't charge for the show.

for what it's worth, magicjack is endorsed by clark howard. that's pretty high praise because he's a hard-nosed consumer advocate.

http://clarkhoward.com/liveweb/shownotes/category/155/156/297/360/

Bravo said:

here's a tip, dave: dont ever believe camgirls when they say they won't charge for the show.

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also don't believe they're necessarily camgirls.

yes, in the world of internet dating, it's difficult to do the requisite crotch check before plopping down your hard earned money.