Internet Phones
I changed over to internet phones last August, and my phone bills went from
$350/month to $200/year. In fact, the only hard wire phone line I still have
is for my fax line, and this, too, may be going. So far, the internet service
has been, believe it or not, better than the phone company.
Does anyone else have any experience with this? If so, have you noticed any
problems?
I have used vonage for almost 2 years now and I’m very happy with it. There have been very few outages(I think 2), and I’m fairly certain they were both due to the internet carrier not Vonage.
There are occasional sound glitches, but they are very very rare.
The technology is super, as far as the advanced call forwarding, simul-ring features, and the ability to have messages emailed to me.
The fax does not seem to work as well, and when I take out office space this year I am considering getting a traditional analog line to improve the reliability of that service. That way, as well, the fax line can also serve as a backup(in addition to my celphone) in the event that there is a disruption in the internet connection or the VOIP phone service.
Hey JoeDaMan,
When you get into your new digs are you gonna invite some of the RegRep boys over for a little party in the new pad??? Just let me know what I need to bring and I am on a flight...
[quote=blarmston]
Hey JoeDaMan,
When you get into your new digs are you gonna invite some of the RegRep boys over for a little Tupperware party in the new pad??? Just let me know what I need to bring and I am on a flight...
[/quote]
Wait a minute...Did I read that right?
[quote=joedabrkr]I have used vonage for almost 2 years now and I’m very happy with it. There have been very few outages(I think 2), and I’m fairly certain they were both due to the internet carrier not Vonage.
There are occasional sound glitches, but they are very very rare.
The technology is super, as far as the advanced call forwarding, simul-ring features, and the ability to have messages emailed to me.
The fax does not seem to work as well, and when I take out office space this year I am considering getting a traditional analog line to improve the reliability of that service. That way, as well, the fax line can also serve as a backup(in addition to my celphone) in the event that there is a disruption in the internet connection or the VOIP phone service.
[/quote]
I’ve had Vonage at home for about 18 months, and I’m also happy with it. You really can’t beat $24 a month. Sometimes there is an echo on the line though. I also wish that it could block calls that do not provide caller ID.
Can you get a vonage or voip number listed in the yellowpages? I use it at home and do not have a white pages listing? Also, does the SEC require your number to be listed?
I use a company called SunRocket, and I was able to keep my same numbers.
[quote=Broker7]Can you get a vonage or voip number listed in the yellowpages? I use it at home and do not have a white pages listing? Also, does the SEC require your number to be listed?[/quote]
My number has not been listed since day one, nor do I have a yellow pages ad. Thankfully I have all I need to keep me busy.
My number is properly registered with NASD, as well as my address. My b/d also knows where to find me. That is sufficient.
[quote=blarmston]
Hey JoeDaMan,
When you get into your new digs are you gonna invite some of the RegRep boys over for a little party in the new pad??? Just let me know what I need to bring and I am on a flight...
[/quote]Blarm that sounds like fun. We'll start at the office for a cocktail, and then hop in the limo and head up to Harrah's for some real fun! ;-) You think you could handle leaving the SoCal paradise for a couple of days? We'll party like rock stars!
This is an aging thread, but Yes, I use Vonage, there are times when it downright SUX! Their customer service is pathetically bad and they drive me up the wall (short trip, as you no doubt know by now).
I have 7 lines plus the free fax line. Aside from the issues above and one more I'll get to. I agree, this system ROCKS.
Last year I had to rush down to FL for a week to care for my parents (not really a long story but too boring even for me), I tossed one of the modems (I have four in total) into the suitcase, hooked it to the broadband there and presto! I'm in the parent's house with access to all lines and calling my clients was like making a local call. They had no way of knowing where I was. I do the same thing when I head off to the beach house for a week here and there.
When I go to a distant lunch I forward my office calls to the cell phone so that I can keep an eye on who's calling (now that I have more people in the branch it's not quite as important that I be there to answer each call). I also have the cell phone as the network backup, in case the internet is down for some reason or other.
The fact that I can reconfigure the system from any computer in the world is cool too. My brother, who lives in a very foreign country got Vonage when he last visited, I can dial the number for a town a few miles away and I'll be talking to him half way around the world, same charge as a local call.
BTW, I leave my 800 #'s (Got 3 of those, one that goes to the house, two for the office) with MCI, I don't know if they are the cheapest (6.9CPM) but their customer service keeps me there. I can call and reconfigure my ring throughs to whatever number I need, and it's done in minutes.
The question that I have for y'all is, What do you use for a switchboard?
When I was alone, I was able to get by with a Panasonic two line system. When I expanded and I needed more lines I got a 4 line system that comes from RCA (Thompson). The first one I got could somehow not handle the incoming lines, and the system would semi frequently freeze up (some days were worse than others). I called and they said, 'well, send us the unit and we'll send you a replacement' as if I could get by without a phone for a few months!
They sent me THREE replacements that each had a same other problem (an echo between the handsets and the base unit). Then the sent me a fourth and it seems to be working properly so far.
It's a great system (if it would work right) in that the desk sets are all wireless (so I don't have to rewire the office when I add a new guy) which are crystal clear (so far as static, echo is sometimes hit or miss) down the elevator out the building and in the restaurant down the block (seriously, it has like a half mile range!) and the board is loaded with features like voice mail, auto attendent, message on hold and what have you. For $600 plus 100 per extra handset it's a whole lot less than a real multi line phone system where they want in the neighborhood of $3,600 plus a service contract.
I'm just wondering if there is a different solution that I haven't found as I add more brokers (going forward I figure I'll need 1.25 lines additional lines per broker.) Any imput on that number?
As far as the yellow pages are concerned. They'll put a picture of you mother-in-law neked if you'll pay them. The yellow pages are strictly a ads for $ business!
Call the sales rep and you'll be in there!
[quote=Whomitmayconcer]
As far as the yellow pages are concerned.
They’ll put a picture of you mother-in-law neked if you’ll pay them. The
yellow pages are strictly a ads for $ business!
Call the sales rep and you’ll be in there!
[/quote]Isn’t THAT the truth!
You don’t even have to call them. How many times have you gotten one of
those things that look like a bill, but in reality is a contract for “enhanced
advertising” in the phone book?
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