Does anyone use VOIP?

[serryjw]

Are you happy....what company? HOW do you use it if you are NOT in front of your computer?

[bertha katzenengel]

1. My sister does, thru Earthlink. BAD news, at least for her -

she's still waiting for them to fix it. It dialed 911 several times during a period of about 12 hours.

But don't let that influence you. Wait for a lot of others.

[lizziegrace]

2. I've had Vonage for 6 months

You get around being stuck in front of your computer by buying a cordless phone with multiple handsets. I also have a land-line type phone connected as well. I like it. For 24.99 a month, the features are terrific. There are some occasional blips when your internet service hiccups, but I have mine configured to call my cell phone when the Vonage line cannot accept calls for whatever reason. I won't go back to Ma Bell.

[politicat]

3. We have Sunrocket, and have had no problems.

T-mobile has been a bit slow on the number transfer (not Sunrocket's fault) so that's been a bit icky, but it works great for us.

We like the fact that it's harder to be eavesdropped upon, and that we can take it with us. We have corded and cordless handsets, as well as a fax machine and I send a lot of faxes to Washington - no problems.

[jobycom]

4. Yeah, it's good.

We've used Vonage for over a year. It's just like a regular phone. You plug a VOIP modem between your cable or DSL modem and your router (or computer if you don't have a router). You plug a phone set into that modem. If you want multiple sets, use a wireless phone system that lets you use however many handsets you want. You can set up phone bases in several rooms. Vonage modems allow you to buy a second line if you want.

Long distance is free, all the normal stuff like forwarding and waiting is included, and the price is less than regular phone service. You don't even think about long distance. You can even choose a different area code if you want.

The only drawbacks I've experienced: When cable is out, so is phone (not very often); now and then I get bad connections (again, rare); Vonage has poor customer service, and it's hard to call them if your phone goes down. Our phone modem was fried by lightning once, and it took two weeks to get Vonage to get a new modem to us, and a while longer to straighten out the billing. Not unlike the regular phone company.

And 911 doesn't go to your local 911 service, it goes to a central service who has to route the call locally. If you aren't registered (a simple step, but not automatic) they can't track where you are calling from, so your kids have to know your full address.