placing phone calls over the internet
I use primarily my cell phone for calls. We do not have a traditional "land line" due to the cost.
There are occasions, however that I need something more stable than my cell phone. I participate in conference calls several times a month, sometimes more frequently. Using a cell phone for conference calls has proven to be a disaster. I would lose the call, I could not be heard on the other end, and I could only hear parts of what was said over the speaker phone.
At the beginning of January I decided to give Vonage a try. I have a high-speed internet connection that I use for my occupation as a web developer. Vonage uses VOIP (Voice Over IP) technology, so it runs over my high-speed internet connection.
Vonage has worked mostly great. The thing that they had that I really wanted was the "soft phone" -- which is a software-only telephone. I hook my headset up to my laptop and can talk over the internet while using my computer.
I paid $15 a month for the basic service which includes 500 minutes anywhere in the US or Canada, plus $10 for the softphone service -- which has its own 500 minutes. There were also some costs for setup that I don't remember -- I think I had to buy the modem.
Unfortunately Vonage did not -- and still does not have any phone numbers in my 970 area code. I also could not just buy the softphone service for $10 a month, I had to buy the normal "telephone" service (which I don't use) PLUS the soft phone service.
Finally, they bill my credit card every month. They don't send paper bills. So the credit card we are trying to pay off gets charged $28+ every month.
About a month ago I downloaded an application called Skype. Skype uses similar technology to Vonage, but they also let you talk directly to other computer-based callers for free. They have a built in chat application and they allow you to send files over the chat application. I have been very happy with Skype -- it is free for me to use, it has been very reliable, and the voice quality has been better than Vonage.
In addition to the free computer-to-computer calls, Skype has the option of buying credit for calls to "normal" phones in €10 increments that you use at the rate of 1.7 cents (Euro) per minute to any calls to the US, Europe, Australia and several other places around the globe. This means that I can buy service in advance, use it when I want (I think I have to use it within 6 months), and I get exactly what I need. €10 translates into a little over $13, and the rate is about 2 cents (US) per minute for calls all over the world.
They do offer voicemail for an additional charge -- but I have that on my cell phone. They also allow you to buy a phone number if you want. They currently do not have any numbers in my area code.
Today I cancelled Vonage. They charged me $40 to cancel. I don't think I'll be going back.
If you have high-speed internet, use a cell phone heavily but need another option sometimes -- I highly recommend Skype.
If you have high-speed internet and are looking for unlimited calling within the US and Candada, get the $25 Vonage plan.
Even if you go with Vonage, you should still download and try out Skype for computer-to-computer calls, chat and file transfer -- let me know if you do and we can talk for free!
There are occasions, however that I need something more stable than my cell phone. I participate in conference calls several times a month, sometimes more frequently. Using a cell phone for conference calls has proven to be a disaster. I would lose the call, I could not be heard on the other end, and I could only hear parts of what was said over the speaker phone.
At the beginning of January I decided to give Vonage a try. I have a high-speed internet connection that I use for my occupation as a web developer. Vonage uses VOIP (Voice Over IP) technology, so it runs over my high-speed internet connection.
Vonage has worked mostly great. The thing that they had that I really wanted was the "soft phone" -- which is a software-only telephone. I hook my headset up to my laptop and can talk over the internet while using my computer.
I paid $15 a month for the basic service which includes 500 minutes anywhere in the US or Canada, plus $10 for the softphone service -- which has its own 500 minutes. There were also some costs for setup that I don't remember -- I think I had to buy the modem.
Unfortunately Vonage did not -- and still does not have any phone numbers in my 970 area code. I also could not just buy the softphone service for $10 a month, I had to buy the normal "telephone" service (which I don't use) PLUS the soft phone service.
Finally, they bill my credit card every month. They don't send paper bills. So the credit card we are trying to pay off gets charged $28+ every month.
About a month ago I downloaded an application called Skype. Skype uses similar technology to Vonage, but they also let you talk directly to other computer-based callers for free. They have a built in chat application and they allow you to send files over the chat application. I have been very happy with Skype -- it is free for me to use, it has been very reliable, and the voice quality has been better than Vonage.
In addition to the free computer-to-computer calls, Skype has the option of buying credit for calls to "normal" phones in €10 increments that you use at the rate of 1.7 cents (Euro) per minute to any calls to the US, Europe, Australia and several other places around the globe. This means that I can buy service in advance, use it when I want (I think I have to use it within 6 months), and I get exactly what I need. €10 translates into a little over $13, and the rate is about 2 cents (US) per minute for calls all over the world.
They do offer voicemail for an additional charge -- but I have that on my cell phone. They also allow you to buy a phone number if you want. They currently do not have any numbers in my area code.
Today I cancelled Vonage. They charged me $40 to cancel. I don't think I'll be going back.
If you have high-speed internet, use a cell phone heavily but need another option sometimes -- I highly recommend Skype.
If you have high-speed internet and are looking for unlimited calling within the US and Candada, get the $25 Vonage plan.
Even if you go with Vonage, you should still download and try out Skype for computer-to-computer calls, chat and file transfer -- let me know if you do and we can talk for free!
posted by John Daharsh at 11:40 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home