Voip ...The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly By Tripcash on - Updated Oct 15, 2011
First the good... when I needed to add a new phone line at home for business, it was quick and inexpensive to go with Voip, especially since we ALREADY had high speed internet/cable modem. I didn't care about porting a number, so I had my choice of phone numbers and area codes. The adapter from Voip arrived quicky and was VERY easy to hook up. I bought a new cordless phone unit to use and I was on my way.
They have several different plans, including $19.99/mo for unlimited US calling (came with a free month), $199.99/year for unlimited US calling, and multiple low international rates. I opted for the $19.99/mo initially, so that I wouldn't be committed to a full year if things didn't work out.
Some of the free features include Call Waiting, Caller ID, Call Forwarding, Voicemail, and 3 way calling, plus many others. These features are very handy, especially since the local phone company charges a la carte for these.
Now the bad...the voice quality on my Voip line has always been a bit different than on my regular landline, but not in a bothersome way. I cannot walk more than a few yards away from the phone base, or the connection gets very fuzzy.
And the ugly... After the first few months, I started experiencing more dropped calls and more frequent bad call quality. Not good when I am talking with a customer!! Voip customer service is sluggish, at best. I was recently given a new Voip adapter, in the hopes that it will improve my call quality. I haven't used it enough yet to know for sure.
Voip attempted to take over the customers of another voice-over-internet-phone provider who closed up shop earlier this year. Voip was nowhere near ready to hande that volume of business and it has hurt their quality overall. Hopefully as time goes by they will be able to improve their call quality and their customer service quality. The idea of Voip is great and the price is certainly right... now they just need to get their product right.
About The Author:
Voip.com Grandstream Handytone-286 Purchased at: Voip.com Price: $19.99/mo
This is interesting. I have friends who've had good experiences, and others not so good. It's really hard to sort out why sometimes. Thanks for another piece of information to add to the puzzle.
Sounds like this isn't worth it. Wish it was, I would like to have it!
Sounds like they have some great features but just need to work on things a bit. That seems to me like a good price but that doesn't matter if it drops calls, especially for a business. Thanks for the information.
Thanks for being honest about voip. I also work 911 and alot of times what we hear on the lines is so distorted. We had a class where we heard an audio example of this and a gun shot sounded like a door slamming. Needless to say it's imperative to know whether what we are hearing is a door slamming or a gunshot. Thanks for being honest!
I loved your "good", "bad" & "ugly" points! I hope they will improve on the call quality!