I don't get it - what's so cool about Vonage? Most people have cellphones, so why would you need Vonage? In fact, why would you even have a land line?
How does Vonage work?
How does Vonage work?
Vonage
- Thread starter vraiblonde
- Start date
Hawkeyewife
New Member
I am a stay at home mom so having a home phone is nice and my husband and I are very light cellphone users. We have the pay as you go type phones and refresh our minutes once a year. We switched to Vonage a couple of years ago since it was cheaper than Verizon, our current carrier at the time.
Vonage is fine for us, and we kept our same number even though we moved from VA to MD. Oh yeah, my sister lives in South America and has a Vonage phone so she can call with a US area code to anyone in the US, much cheaper than if she used a regular phone. We can call her too!
BTW, My husband and I used to use our cellphones constantly and about 4 years ago we decided to go without a cellphone for a year to see if we could "manage". We did and found we are much better drivers, and for us most cellphone conversations were unecessary. I remember when I would get into my car, start it, put my seat belt on and immediately call someone, it was a bad habit and I believe it contributes to lots of inattentive drivers. Now, I have it for emergencies and limit my use in the car to only when the car is parked.
Vonage is fine for us, and we kept our same number even though we moved from VA to MD. Oh yeah, my sister lives in South America and has a Vonage phone so she can call with a US area code to anyone in the US, much cheaper than if she used a regular phone. We can call her too!
BTW, My husband and I used to use our cellphones constantly and about 4 years ago we decided to go without a cellphone for a year to see if we could "manage". We did and found we are much better drivers, and for us most cellphone conversations were unecessary. I remember when I would get into my car, start it, put my seat belt on and immediately call someone, it was a bad habit and I believe it contributes to lots of inattentive drivers. Now, I have it for emergencies and limit my use in the car to only when the car is parked.
Chasey_Lane
Salt Life
I like it because we only pay $14.95/month.vraiblonde said:
Cowgirl
Well-Known Member
My boyfriend and I don't have a landline...we each have cellphones. I'm getting really tired about the spotty connection in the house. I'm sure my family gets annoyed at me always having a bad connection. Plus, we're wasting so much money with our cell phones. If we each have a bill of $60 (on a good month), that's $120 total per month...we could get a landline for half that, if not cheaper (including long distance). The only thing stopping me right now is the fee for cancelling the contract with Verizon.
We've talked about Vonage...it seems like a pretty neat idea. When we actually get around to cancelling our contracts, we'll probably go with vonage...unless we can get a better deal with someone else.
We've talked about Vonage...it seems like a pretty neat idea. When we actually get around to cancelling our contracts, we'll probably go with vonage...unless we can get a better deal with someone else.
We recently went to the Comcast Triple Play (even though I swore I wouldn't go to cable). My dial-up connection almost died when Verizon split into my line. At the same time, my phone bill continued to be over $50 a month with only a couple of long distance calls (i.e. Chesapeake Beach 301-855 numbers).
Now my cable bill is actually less then it was before and no more land line bill, plus broadband. I am very quite happy with the deal.
Now my cable bill is actually less then it was before and no more land line bill, plus broadband. I am very quite happy with the deal.
kwillia said:
I don't think anyone knows how Vonage works. Maybe it's just magic.
kwillia
n/a
My sister has been using it for several months and has no complaints. I like that she has it because she was able to set it up so that if I called her home number and she didn't answer after a set number of rings, it automatically called her cell.vraiblonde said:
I don't think anyone knows how Vonage works. Maybe it's just magic.
Chasey_Lane
Salt Life
Vonage is VOI. We have a cable modem, so the reception and clarity are good.vraiblonde said:
I don't think anyone knows how Vonage works. Maybe it's just magic.
Vonage is Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) and converts the analog signal (voice) into a digital signal and passes it over the existing network via servers.
Comcast says their service is not VOIP because the use their existing fiber network instead of the internet.
A word of warning, all these systems require the use of a modem, which requires electricity to operate. In the event of a power outage (which we never have in Southern Maryland, right) you may be left without service. The Comcast modem has a battery back-up which is supposed to be good for eight hours.
Comcast says their service is not VOIP because the use their existing fiber network instead of the internet.
A word of warning, all these systems require the use of a modem, which requires electricity to operate. In the event of a power outage (which we never have in Southern Maryland, right) you may be left without service. The Comcast modem has a battery back-up which is supposed to be good for eight hours.
Nickel
curiouser and curiouser
Dustin does, maybe he'll hop on and explain it later.vraiblonde said:
I don't think anyone knows how Vonage works. Maybe it's just magic.
We were going to go with Vonage, or some other VOIP service when we bought our house, but after four or five calls to the cable company with no results (and our neighbors have had the same problem), we just had a land line connected and got DSL. We don't have long distance service on our phone, we use our cell phones for that, and all of the family members we talk to on a regular basis also have Verizon, so we have free mobile to mobile calls and can keep our minutes down.
I think I'm not asking the right question.
I have GoogleTalk and I talk into a microphone connected to my computer. It gets sent to whoever I'm talking to's computer in real time, just like IM or chat. What I CAN'T do is call someone's phone - just their computer.
Is this the same thing as Vonage, except you can call someone's telephone?
I have GoogleTalk and I talk into a microphone connected to my computer. It gets sent to whoever I'm talking to's computer in real time, just like IM or chat. What I CAN'T do is call someone's phone - just their computer.
Is this the same thing as Vonage, except you can call someone's telephone?
itsbob
I bowl overhand
AND you use a telephone on your end..vraiblonde said:
Once it's installed it's pretty much invisible from your standpoint..
From what I understand you do have to register with EMS/ FIRE becasue 911 and E-911 don't work with VOIP..
and as mentioned above, when electricity goes out, you may lose your phone too.
