New Telephone allows unlimited long distance calls!

[thomas7g]

http://www.vonage.com/index.php

VONAGE is a new telephone company that is making alot of waves. I was watching techtv interview the head of the FCC. And he said, "Get a Vonage phone. They are the wave of the future". ((I'm typing from memory)

Basically the internet hasreached the point where broadband allows better than telephone audio to be transfered in real time. So you buy a vonage modem which costs $90, then get a mailin $50 rebate. Then apply for their $30/month plan. Then throw away your normal calling plan. Vonage allows unlimited local and long distance calling in the US and Canada.

You chose your own phone number. Or keep your existing one. Then when anyone calls you, Vonage sends the signal from their phone, through the internet, and to your phone connected to the Vonage adapter.

Once you get it installed...it acts like a regular phone! No real difference!

This sounds very tempting!

[thomas7g]

hmmmm... here is an article that reviews the history of voice interneting and Vonage.

http://www.thetravelinsider.info/2003/0829.htm

So there is a small charge.......But it still sounds alot cheaper. :D

[Darth Marley]

What do you think of this?

http://www.skype.com/

[shiningstar]

http://www.vonage.com/index.php

VONAGE is a new telephone company that is making alot of waves. I was watching techtv interview the head of the FCC. And he said, "Get a Vonage phone. They are the wave of the future". ((I'm typing from memory)

Basically the internet hasreached the point where broadband allows better than telephone audio to be transfered in real time. So you buy a vonage modem which costs $90, then get a mailin $50 rebate. Then apply for their $30/month plan. Then throw away your normal calling plan. Vonage allows unlimited local and long distance calling in the US and Canada.

You chose your own phone number. Or keep your existing one. Then when anyone calls you, Vonage sends the signal from their phone, through the internet, and to your phone connected to the Vonage adapter.

Once you get it installed...it acts like a regular phone! No real difference!

This sounds very tempting!

It sounds GOOD verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry GOOOOOOOOOD! :D :thumbsup: :D

[BST]

Yep, this type of service is the next leap forward for telecommunications. It may very well be the "killer app" that was being sought, to justify the commitment for universal broadband service.

You're going to see more and more companies jump on the VOIP bandwagon. VOIP is an acronym for Voice Over Internet Protocol. In short, phone calls will be carried, for the most part, over the Internet backbone, as opposed to the regular telephone lines. What is required, is a Broadband (either DSL or Cable) Internet connection. You'll plug an adapter into your modem and plug your phone line into the adapter and voila!, you're in business!!

AT&T is making a big push for this and is already offering the service in about 100 markets nationwide. Verizon is soon to begin. Expect the other carriers like Bellsouth, SBC, Qwest, and possibly MCI to begin offering service as well. Cable companies will also be jumping into the fray - like Comcast, Time Warner, Adelphia, Cablevision, etc. (They should because, for the most part, they own the pipe (cable) that will be used to transport the calls.) You'll also see plenty of "upstart companies", like Vonage offering the service as well. In fact, Vonage beat a lot of the telcos to the punch!

There are some incredible "features" that can also be had, with this service like Call Logs (of incoming and outgoing calls), Do Not Disturb features (which will allow you to filter out most calls, only allowing certain ones to come through). Just check any of the above companies' websites for the VOIP service.

It is definitely worth considering especially when including the costs of your regular phone service and internet service. It may very well be the deal-maker for the jump to broadband!

Give it some thought. :thumbsup:

PS (I've already taken some baby steps with this - about 4 years ago, I switched my phone service to ATT Broadband then, Comcast, after the merger. I have had my phone calls transported over coaxial cable since then, and it's worked flawlessly. The cable taps into a network interface box on the side of the house, and from there, it's just regular phone wire inside the house.

For the price of all the combined services - Cable (all the premium stations), Internet, and Phone (2 lines, CWaiting, Cllr Id, 3 Way Calling and 7 cents/min LD calls), my monthly bills average about $190. That's bottom-line, including taxes. It was a setup that I just could not walk away from.)

Mind you, now, my set-up is NOT VOIP but, it's close. VOIP is definitely something that I'm going to consider.

[shiningstar]

Yep, this type of service is the next leap forward for telecommunications. It may very well be the "killer app" that was being sought, to justify the commitment for universal broadband service.

You're going to see more and more companies jump on the VOIP bandwagon. VOIP is an acronym for Voice Over Internet Protocol. In short, phone calls will be carried, for the most part, over the Internet backbone, as opposed to the regular telephone lines. What is required, is a Broadband (either DSL or Cable) Internet connection. You'll plug an adapter into your modem and plug your phone line into the adapter and voila!, you're in business!!

AT&T is making a big push for this and is already offering the service in about 100 markets nationwide. Verizon is soon to begin. Expect the other carriers like Bellsouth, SBC, Qwest, and possibly MCI to begin offering service as well. Cable companies will also be jumping into the fray - like Comcast, Time Warner, Adelphia, Cablevision, etc. (They should because, for the most part, they own the pipe (cable) that will be used to transport the calls.) You'll also see plenty of "upstart companies", like Vonage offering the service as well. In fact, Vonage beat a lot of the telcos to the punch!

There are some incredible "features" that can also be had, with this service like Call Logs (of incoming and outgoing calls), Do Not Disturb features (which will allow you to filter out most calls, only allowing certain ones to come through). Just check any of the above companies' websites for the VOIP service.

It is definitely worth considering especially when including the costs of your regular phone service and internet service. It may very well be the deal-maker for the jump to broadband!

Give it some thought. :thumbsup:

PS (I've already taken some baby steps with this - about 4 years ago, I switched my phone service to ATT Broadband then, Comcast, after the merger. I have had my phone calls transported over coaxial cable since then, and it's worked flawlessly. The cable taps into a network interface box on the side of the house, and from there, it's just regular phone wire inside the house.

For the price of all the combined services - Cable (all the premium stations), Internet, and Phone (2 lines, CWaiting, Cllr Id, 3 Way Calling and 7 cents/min LD calls), my monthly bills average about $190. That's bottom-line, including taxes. It was a setup that I just could not walk away from.)

Mind you, now, my set-up is NOT VOIP but, it's close. VOIP is definitely something that I'm going to consider.

I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Looking FORWARD to IT :thumbsup:

[thomas7g]

What do you think of this?

http://www.skype.com/

That looks good...but I think its not really cutting edge now. The software is free...but you only can talk to others using the same software. Granted its free! And because of that its cheaper than any other way of communicating. So that is a definite plus.

BST is right. This is all VOIP.

Vonage unique advantage is that it allows you to break away from your current phone company and all its phone charges. After installation fees you are basically paying $30 a month for calling anyone you want (within US and canada). Basically we are at the point where if you are being charged per minute, then you are being overcharged.

BTW- Messenger programs like Microsoft Messenger offers free audio and video telephony to other users already. Which gives you more people to talk to than Skype.

:D

[shiningstar]

It's a GOOD advantage especially with all the hidden CHARGES that most telephone
companies have.

[BST]

It's a GOOD advantage especially with all the hidden CHARGES that most telephone
companies have.

Unfortunately, most of those "hidden" charges are there as a result of unfunded mandates of our beloved government agencies, i.e., FCC. For example, the Universal Connectivity Charge that appears on Long Distance bills came about as a result of the 1996 Telecommunications Act. The FCC has a goal of having affordable service available to everyone, even in the remotest areas. To do this, they required the long distance companies to 'contribute' into a Universal Service Fund. The monies collected there would be used to offset the higher costs involved in providing service to the rural areas where customers may be miles apart. The only problem - no company could completely absorb that cost. So, it was passed along to the private consumer - you and me.

There are also charges that appear on the bills which, reflect the 'cost of doing business'. If you have local phone service with one company and long distance with another but, get 1 bill then, you'll probably see a 'bill statement fee' on the long distance bill. Why? Because, the local company charged the long distance company for putting the long distance billing info on their bill.

Taxes - no phone company is responsible for these. They're there as a result of state and federal legislation. You'd be surprised at how many folks do not realize this and think the phone companies have some influence over them.

Oh well, that's my 2 cents for now. :D

[Darth Marley]

I have not really looked at Skype closely, but when I filed it away for a further look, the buzz was that it would work well with cell phones and pda devices, giving it an advantage over "buy this handset and plug it into your router" solutions.

The fee for the more universal solutions typically goes to pay the POTS that makes a phone ring on the other end. VOIP has been around for a few years.

I almost got sucked in to the MCI/Worldcom bubble when they were on the upswing. I am so glad I did not take a bite of that empty promise. It probably would have been a good gig for about 18 months.

Related issue: VOIP wiretap authority.

FCC has submitted for public comment regulations that will allow "big brother" type snooping of Internet packets. This is in direct contradiction to the voted will of congress.
But, with the current state of emergency, many people might not mind this authority getting implemented.

I suppose we will soon see 128 bit encryption for voice packets as well.

[BST]

FCC Ruling on VOIP

FCC Rules in Favor of Net Phone Industry (http://money.excite.com/jsp/nw/nwdt_ge.jsp?news_id=cmt-314w3569&feed=cmt&date=20041109)

:thumbsup:

[thomas7g]

YAY! Thanks Pete!

Its kinda a good bet that the FCC would approve VOIP when it was the FCC chairman himself who advised people to give vonage a try on TechTV.

And another cool bit of news - VONAGE LOWERED THEIR PRICE!!!!!! Now they have a $25 monthly fee for unlimited phonecalls in teh US and Canada!!!!! That's anytime, no limits. No hidden charges outside of a $1.50 tax charge per month. This is the way to go if you own broadband!

[bsg1fan1975]

I'll keep my telephone service, thank you very much. Very old fashioned here in alot of ways.

[shiningstar]

me too Bsg ;) me too ;)

[bsg1fan1975]

I like the ring of my phone in my house.

[thomas7g]

I got one of those new phone accounts.

Its really nice. I plugged the phone I've had for years into the internet. Now I can talk across the country for free. Just have to pay $25 or so a month for unlimited long distance.

My main problem now is that I'm always running the cordless out of battery charge.

:)

[doc834]

My phone is a cable phone. I was offered when I moved into my house, when I called to cable company to install cable TV and internet. It's a great system.

[Rowan]

I got one of those new phone accounts.

Its really nice. I plugged the phone I've had for years into the internet. Now I can talk across the country for free. Just have to pay $25 or so a month for unlimited long distance.

My main problem now is that I'm always running the cordless out of battery charge.

:)
Well in that case my phone number is 604 - oops I'd better PM you with the rest ;) :D