VOIP. - 2014 what actually works?

[Too Tall]

Finally ready to ditch our landline. Looking at ooma and a few others
What works and what do you like for home use?
Ideally, i would like to take advantage of my existing wire and inject the signal but that is not a showstopper.

[SteveP]

i installed a telegraph machine.
much easier than calling the operator every time you want to make a long distance call.
plus, i hate the party line that is always tied up.
you know morse code?

[Too Tall]

Who knew that carrier pigeons were so tasty? Running out of options Steve.

[Matthew Strongin]

Would you consider dropping home phones all together and just using your cell? You can even get handsets that will hook into your cellphone if you want to answer from another part of the house. Here's one example:

Panasonic KX-TG7874S - Link2Cell Bluetooth Enabled Phone with Answering Machine KX-TG7874S 4 Cordless Handsets

[Too Tall]

Would you consider dropping home phones all together and just using your cell? You can even get handsets that will hook into your cellphone if you want to answer from another part of the house. Here's one example:

Panasonic KX-TG7874S - Link2Cell Bluetooth Enabled Phone with Answering Machine KX-TG7874S 4 Cordless Handsets

Does it work? Perhaps. I like VOIP a bit more since it is separated from the traditional voice carriers.

[jitahs]

These threads are like a party line, some ol' biddy tut-tutting mindin the business.

I told you about Ooma. It works. Has the right tech. It's dirt cheap. It's better quality than the landline it replaced.

[xjoex]

I dropped my land line completely... 7 years ago. I have a ATT microcell in my house since we don't get signal up on the mountain. The microcell runs over my cable modem(which is actually a radio since I don't have cable).

I have a google voice number that rings my cell, laptop and desk phone if I want to dial in for a long conf call.

-Joe

[vertical_doug]

Smartphone with the Japanese/Korean App called LINE. My family doesn't need to speak or text anymore. We have a gif (sticker) or emoticon for everything....

LINE : Free Calls & Messages

Since many of the cyclists are this forum are closet OTAKU, I think this should be perfect....

[Too Tall]

Thanks Jitahs I recall what you said now. It's been a while, eons in tech-years actually so worth asking.

Ooma seems to be hedging their bets now by favoring a landline + ooma solution esp. for localizing 911.

The other solution that nobody has said is to add VOIP to existing cable service. We have comcast internet only which is rock solid (knock on wood).

[dinucci]

Thanks Jitahs I recall what you said now. It's been a while, eons in tech-years actually so worth asking.

Ooma seems to be hedging their bets now by favoring a landline + ooma solution esp. for localizing 911.

The other solution that nobody has said is to add VOIP to existing cable service. We have comcast internet only which is rock solid (knock on wood).

iI have VOIP with my internet connection, all radio because of country location. I can't call Peter White cycles from the VOIP. During one of our conference calls with Reynolds tubing guys I thought I should be 'safe' and use my landline, but I got dropped part way through the call. Got on the VOIP and got back on the conference call. VOIP has been good for me unless the radio goes down because of snow or maintenance.

mark dinucci

[Too Tall]

Thanks Mark good to know....leaning that way in not small part due to localized service / support.

[Brandon White]

We used Broadvoice for 9 years. No issues. Took it with us to France, Brazil, etc. We don't need it anymore though since my wife can call her home country at no additional charge using her mobile phone.

Another option is a Skype number and just use your mobile phone. You're on WiFi at home anyway right?

[Too Tall]

We used Broadvoice for 9 years. No issues. Took it with us to France, Brazil, etc. We don't need it anymore though since my wife can call her home country at no additional charge using her mobile phone.

Another option is a Skype number and just use your mobile phone. You're on WiFi at home anyway right?

Yup. So tell me true. Has Skype worked it out? We used Skype for years and service was really bad.

Anybody using Vonage?

FWIIW This is looking the best of all the BYOD VOIP companies: http://www.voipo.com/voip.php Pretty irresistible and solid reviews.

[EricKeller]

land line has been gone for quite a while here. We got one of those boxes that is actually a cell, but you hook regular phones up to it. Little more expensive than an extra cell line, but far cheaper than a land line

[Brandon White]

Yup. So tell me true. Has Skype worked it out? We used Skype for years and service was really bad.

Anybody using Vonage?

FWIIW This is looking the best of all the BYOD VOIP companies: VoIP - Residential VoIP, Small Business VoIP by VOIPO Pretty irresistible and solid reviews.

I have used Skype with success while traveling abroad. Quality was good given the generally fast, but spotty internet connection I had. I haven't had any need to use it locally. This was within the last 2 years though.

[Saab2000]

I haven't had a land line in years and wouldn't get one again I don't think. That said, my brother in Minneapolis lives in a Verizon dead spot and I get essentially no service at his house. I haven't tried any solutions but I don't want to try strange workarounds to make or receive calls. If I lived where he lives I'd have to come up with a solution.

The other day a friend of mine who flies internationally called me on her iPhone from China using FaceTime Voice and the call was clearer (by far) than a normal cellular connection. It did, however, fade in and out as she moved about her hotel room in Shanghai.

The whole thing was a freaky miracle. When I was a kid I remember a short 2 or 3 minute call from my father when he was in Germany and this was an amazing thing. Now I get free calls over the internet from China and she made a quick video FaceTime call too just to show me what it looked like from her hotel room. Amazing.

I'm not sure I'm ready to go without my cellular phone just yet though. I get excellent coverage 99.9% of the time. But I doubt I'll ever have another land line.

[Too Tall]

VoIP Services by VOIPO

This works like a charm so far and the deal is $149 for two years. They give you a huge panel of options to play with if you care to otherwise out of the box it rocks.

Plug the device into your LAN and plug your existing phone into their device you have dial tone....done.

Porting in my case took 48 hrs.

Hello.

[mainemike]

I'm a VOIP -er. Enjoy, it works pretty well!

[crumpton]

until you learn that its been VoIP from the CO to the "switched" networks for some time now. in other towards the carriers have been using soft switches and VoIP for trunks about 10 years now. by now i'd assume the only twisted pair is between your home and your CO.

Does it work? Perhaps. I like VOIP a bit more since it is separated from the traditional voice carriers.

[Too Tall]

until you learn that its been VoIP from the CO to the "switched" networks for some time now. in other towards the carriers have been using soft switches and VoIP for trunks about 10 years now. by now i'd assume the only twisted pair is between your home and your CO.

The man knows his stuff.

Next up....VOIP tricks for travel using portable devices. I want to have my home number ring in two places at home and my internet connected device. Heck with call forwarding.