When I wrote about Vonage last week, a couple of you replied that you'd had a great experience with them and gave a thumbs up for their service. I'm still torn on making the switch though, so I decided to check out some other reviews.
I think what worries me most is all of the equipment talk on the Vonage forum. From technical problems to equipment issues to identity theft.
But then, what appeals to me most are the obvious savings and the cool features. I especially like the idea of having my voice mail delivered by email...
I am currently paying around $100 (usually a little over) for my telephone service - which includes phone service, DSL and a long distance package. And then I am paying around $50/month for cable tv, though that tends to fluctuate from $48 to $60 for some odd reason. But altogether it costs around $160/month for phone, cable & internet.
I decided to make some calls this morning and get some information on making the switch to Vonage. The phone company is now offering satellite tv service in addition to telephone and DSL/internet, so I inquired about that while I was on the line with them.
Unfortunately they dont offer a 'DSL Only' option, so I would have to keep basic phone service at around $11/month plus DSL service at $45/month for a 1 meg line. That comes to $56/month plus taxes & surcharges, so I can count on it being around $75/month plus the cost of Vonage. Total = ~$100/month, which is what I am already paying.
They are running a promotion for their Satellite TV service, which is "free dish for one year". I would have to sign a 2-year contract and I would get phone service, DSL, all of my expanded phone features (caller ID, voice mail, call waiting, 3-way calling, etc), unlimited nationwide long distance plus satellite tv service for $79.99/month for the first year. And then $119.99/month for the 2nd year.
There is a $50 activation fee and a $5/month additional charge for the 3rd TV - so that would be around $100/month (taxes & surcharges included) for tv, phone & internet altogether - but $140'ish/month after the promotion ends.
Of course, if I decide to change any of that before the 2 years is up, there is a $400 cancellation fee 😐
The cable company charges $42.95/month for 3-meg cable modem service. That includes the equipment, but there is a $50 installation/activation fee. They are currently running a promotion where it would only be $32.99/month for the first 12 months - and there is no contract with their offer.
If I add that (32.99/mo) to my cable bill ($60/mo) and add in Vonage ($24.95/mo) then it comes out to $117.94/month (plus taxes & surcharges).
All said and done, I'm not seeing a huge savings in any of the options - and potentially a lot of hassle for making the switch. The best option does seem to be keeping my current phone service & dsl and switching from cable to satellite OR going with cable + cable modem + Vonage (which would equal faster internet connection and cooler phone features).
Your thoughts?
Technorati Tags: vonage, voip, reviews, long distance, phone service, dsl, cable modem
About Lynn Terry
I'm a fan of cable internet, despite having worked for the phone company selling DSL back when it first came out. Mostly it's the lack of a contract for me. I left that job about 6 years ago, so I don't know how things compare now.
I really like Vonage!
I can't remember when I had any real problems with using Vonage. Been using them for over a year or so now. I'm on Cox cable and it works just fine for me. One of the reasons I got it was the savings on long distance calls. Most of my family is still out in California.
PLUS the fact you can make unlimited calls to anywhere in the U.S. AND Canada for the same low price. I have many day trading friends in Canada, so this is a plus. AND I get on alot of those Net marketing teleconference calls so this saves on the LD charges too.
Another slick thing one can do with Vonage (and probably other similar services), is that for an extra fee ($5 with Vonage), one can get another phone number in another area and they can call you unlimitedly! 😉
For example, I got a number in my mom's local calling area in California and she can call me anytime as much as she wants and saves her the long distance charges calling me. Win - Win.
But I DO still have a regular phone line. Cuz when electricty goes out, regular phone lines are usually still usable and Internt access stuff is OUT! 😉
My 3 centz ...
Rick Wilson aka CorpRebel
Ahh - that's an issue I hadnt considered. Thanks, Rick! Of course, I suppose I could use my Cell Phone when the internet is down OR the power is out...
So many options 🙄
Hi Lynn,
The dish is a lot more likely to lose signal during a hard rain, I believe the cable is faster than the dsl and I don't know about now but there use to be about 5 volts on the coaxil cable from the dish so if you tried to split the signal between tv's half of the channels would go to one tv and half to the other. The dish does have the exclusive on the nfl package. I just go to a restaurant that carries it if the bears aren't showing in my area.
Thanks Dave!
I'm not much on NFL myself, and actually I dont watch that much TV at all. I do love my Netflix, but the cable/satellite option is more for the kids - especially my daughter (who's "so raven" lol).
I appreciate the input though. It gives me even more to consider. I do like the idea of faster access (cable modem) and the Vonage features (voicemail to Inbox, esp) - combined with my cell phone on the side, that could work.
Hi Lynn!
I am currently considering almost the exact same thing, as I currently pay for 3.0mb/s DSL, local and long distance phone service.
Cable is faster for the same price (without a contract), offers Vonage for $15.00/mo 500 minutes or $25.00 ultd, and offers a discount with tv.
As for power outages, the VOIP (vonage, ect) modems included usually have a battery backup system and seem to last at least a few hours.
Not sure who your provider is, but Comcast offers this for $20.00/mo for the first 6, and $45.00 thereafter if you are a current subscriber. They also have their own VOIP service.
Which is something else you can consider, by the way. Skype is a competitor to Vonage, but they are currently completely free!
There is also Net2Phone which with right Linksys Router gives you VOIP at prepaid rates. Reliabilty could be a problem with LInksys and certainly was in my case. Also you don't get a phone number with the plan I'm explaining.
Cable is faster and usually cheaper. Skype as already noted is free.
One thing you can sure of is that prices will go up.Best of luck.
Lynn, I don't know where you are but you should be able to get full phone features and unlimited long distance with dsl for $85 tops; and that is with the dsl that is faster (6Mbps) than all the cable internets we have here! I could save $10 more by dropping back to the same speed that the cable companies provide.
I wouldn't recommend you to switch until you haven't checked out some other service providers. You should see if you can get a cheaper one.
I am existing customer & Vonage's features are good but billing and customer service is worst.
Many of existing members may not agree with me as they may not have faced what I've.
1. Small technical Issues takes days to resolve.
2. Many customer service representative do not know abt their products
3. Billing get changes and offer revoked with add-on , and customer care reprensentative will never tell you this.
For example I opted unlimited local and long distance calling in $24.99 with an offer of first 2 months free. After few days I added International plan (Basic international plan -unlimited call 17 countries ) but after few weeks they started charging full ( unlimited local & long distance + International). When I complained this they came up with some funny answers like if any add-on revokes the offers 🙂
And when I asked them to disconnect the service the customer service representative started telling me "If you disconnect before 2 years of service you will get charge for disconnection & equipments 🙂
Though Vonage is good in Voip but I would strongly recommend new VOIP seeker to keep away from contracts and opt other cheaper VOIP operator available in market.