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Vonage/Nextiva?

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Apr 22, 2009 2:13 pm

I was just wondering, for those of who who opened up your own office, what voicemail and VoIP phone systems have you come across that work best? Nextiva has great ratings and features but I haven’t really heard much about them. If anyone has any suggestions it would be of great help.

  Thanks in advance.
Apr 22, 2009 4:55 pm

We went with Packet 8. No major problems as of yet. They had pretty much everything we were looking for in the way of features for an office of 5+

Apr 22, 2009 5:18 pm

Thank you. Well, right now we are thinking about going through Office Depot and getting our services through AccessLine. We get the service along with the equipment and the inital cost is low. Has anyone had any experience with AccessLine? What about the best broadband provider? Any input would be great.

  Thanks
Apr 22, 2009 5:55 pm

I second packet8. Three years an no problems. I was even able to set up an extension at the house for days when I want to work from home.

Apr 22, 2009 6:13 pm

Thanks. How much are you paying for your packet8 service and how many extensions do you have?? Is there and additional cost per extension?? Our office will have two brokers and an assistant.

Apr 23, 2009 1:45 pm

Call their business sales line. They recently upgrade their phones. I have the old model. I think it was 120 per phone.

Just make sure you have the outgoing bandwith to handle voip.
Apr 24, 2009 12:31 pm

[quote=GoenIndie]I was just wondering, for those of who who opened up your own office, what voicemail and VoIP phone systems have you come across that work best? Nextiva has great ratings and features but I haven’t really heard much about them. If anyone has any suggestions it would be of great help.

  Thanks in advance.[/quote]

The phone system is a combination of hardware and service.  Packet 8 is great for small business and many have told me they like it.  I think they charge $50 per extension per month for unlimited calling.  For more features like one button switch from phone to cell phone, Nortel has very good hardware.  You need to find a local service provider though.  If you call Nortel they can help with the local service providers. 

One item to note when going with a carrier is that they own the number.  So if you switch to a new phone, you probably will need a new number.

The other thing you need to confirm is disaster recovery.  Communication is one of the first things to go down.  With natural disasters, you should have a good recovery plan in place.  Make sure you ask each of these providers how disaster recovery would work.

Good Luck.

ash
www.FAfreedom.com - The Breakaway Experts
609-945-7100 x 101
Jan 29, 2010 2:42 pm

I opened an LPL branch in June '09 and after a couple months of research I decided to go with 8 X 8 a.k.a. Packet 8.  4 extentions, virtual attendant, 800 line…just everything you could imagine…and then some…even a a fax line for a tradiditional fax machine (converter needed).  Great pricing too…

                                * * * * * * *  WELCOME TO MY NIGHTMARE * * * * * * *    My biggest issue is the quality of call.   Even with the max. up stream and down stream available from Time Warner I have a very sloppy system.    1.  Dropped calls 2.  Major echo 3.  You can hear your caller but they can't hear you 4.  15-25 sec. lag time from dial to connect 5.  Scratchy...schratchy....scratchy 6.  Client's telling me that they left a message and I never get them   What I am really pissed about are the dropped calls.  Talking with a client then...............(cricket....cricket........cricket....) nothing...phone just goes dead.  This has not just happened once but dozens of times.  I have spent hours and hours with tech support and they have no solutions.    So, now I'm switching.....maybe to Nextiva....I just hope I am not jumping from the pot to the fire.  m             15 - 20 minutes on hold waiting for tech support.  If your lucky.  A couple of times it has been 45 minutes +.  Level 1 technicial support is just your average joe working off of a script troubleshooting......
Feb 22, 2010 1:09 am

I went with Vonage when I went independent initially. While I enjoyed some of their technology (like vmails forwarded to my email) and unlimited minutes, there are some significant shortcomings.



I’d say it worked flawlessly 90% of the time. The problem is that the other 10% is an embarrassment. Suddenly a client can’t hear you or you have to listen to your own echo for 20 minutes. It’s unprofessional and embarrassing.



The fax service is a joke. I wouldn’t even consider it. I can’t believe I put up with it as long as I did. I think there are class action lawsuits against Vonage because they recognize that the technology isn’t the least bit reliable.



Vonage customer “service” is well trained to find ways to blame your troubles on the local internet service provider.



When I’d had enough, I found that the local phone companies are hurting so much that I they quickly offered an unlimited plan for less than Vonage without a single concern with quality. I only wish I had called sooner.