Woohoo, my phone number finally transferred!

[Lydia Leftcoast]

:woohoo:

I signed up for Vonage a couple of weeks ago was told that it would take a while to transfer my phone number.

Well, I got an e-mail yesterday saying that the transfer would take place today. As I left the house this morning, it still hadn't transferred, but while I was out, I got a call on my cell phone from someone who doesn't have my cell phone number. It was then that I remembered that I had set up Vonage to forward all unanswered calls to my cell phone.

Coming back home, I tried calling my normal number from the cell phone, and sure enough, the cheapo phone I had hooked up to the modem was the one that rang.

So now I am officially free of Qwest, the phone company that has done me wrong in two different cities!

Now I can get 500 minutes of voice phone plus a dedicated fax line for half of what Qwest was charging me for a voice line alone!

And here is my parting message for Qwest: :nuke:

[meegbear]

1. Congrats! Just don't try to use 911 ...

don't seem to work for Vonage users.

[salvorhardin]

2. Vonage

will set it up so 911 forwards to your local 911 dispatch center.
http://vonage.com/features.php?feature=911

Vonage offers 911 Dialing to all our customers . When you dial 911, your call is routed from the Vonage network to the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) for your area. (What is a PSAP?) There are several important differences between our Emergency Services dialing and traditional 911 Dialing that you need to know:

* Vonage 911 Dialing must be activated
* You must tell us where you are
* Vonage 911 Dialing connects you with general emergency services

You just have to ask for it to be turned on and tell them where you are. It's not the same as your local E911 but it is the local PSAP for your area and it will get you help quickly.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

4. Yes, I've started the process for that

In the meantime, I have my cell phone in the remote event that I need to call 911.

[meegbear]

5. You have to ask for it ...

that is fucking sad.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

6. But it doesn't cost anything extra

The reason it's not automatic is that the phone is not tied to a physical location. I could move across the country and even overseas and keep the same phone number.

[meegbear]

10. It should just be there ...

911 is 911 is 911. If there's that more overhead to ensure I can make a life or death phonecall, you can have it.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

11. It's already activated

The notification e-mail just came in.
:-)

[gollygee]

3. That took us forever!

but it is cool once it finally gets tranferred!

Congrats!

[MissB]

7. Bet that feels great!

I'd love to dump them if I could. What exactly is Vonage. I could probably google, but what would be the advantage to Vonage over Qwest?

Even with basic Qwest, I still pay nearly $30 a month. No long distance calls or anything.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

8. You must be the only person who hasn't seen the ads on TV

:-)

It's a broadband Internet-based phone company. If you have broadband Internet, you can hook a phone up to a special router (which attaches to your modem) that they send you. If you talk less than 500 minutes per month (as I do), you can get unlimited long distance within Canada and the U.S. for $14.99. This includes voice mail, call forwarding, call waiting (which I chose not to activate), and online management of your options. I've just ordered a fax line for an additional $9.99 a month.

I made the switch after Qwest raised my rates $11 over a period of 3 months. I had them designated as my long distance carrier, but since I use my cell phone for long distance, they started charging me more and more for long distance "access charges." It was as if they were mad at me for not using them for long distance and were determined to get money out of me somehow.

When I told the Vonage sales rep about it, she said that she had heard similar stories from other people.

[MissB]

9. I admit, I don't watch much tv.

So, yeah, I'm probably the only person who hasn't seen the commercial. :rofl:

I'm still not convinced I want to keep Comcast, but it would reduce the total bills by about $15 a month. Interesting. Thanks for the info!