Vonage -- Internet Phone Review

Vonage is a cheap yet reliable phone service that offers a great alternative to traditional phone service. Vonage has become the largest VoIP(voice over the internet) phone service provider in the US. They offer residential plans and business plans as well. For residential service, their are 2 plans available.

The basic plan (plan #1) runs $14.99 per month and includes 500 minutes (incoming calls are free) of local and long distance anywhere in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. The premium plan (plan#2) is $24.99 per month and includes unlimited local and long distance anywhere in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico and select European countries. For the extra $10, it's best to just get the unlimited plan. On the basic plan, if you go over the included 500 minutes the per minute rate is 3.9 cents.

For small business plan #1 it's $39.99 per month, you get 1500 minutes (incoming calls are free) anywhere in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico. Additional minutes are 3.9 cents. All business plans come with a free dedicated fax line as well. The small business plan #2 is $49.99 per month and comes with unlimited calling anywhere in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico and select European countries.

Vonage does provide the modem and all necessary equipment. The only requirement for the end user is a broadband internet connection. Vonage will work with either a DSL or Cable ISP (internet sevice provider). Personally, I prefer Cable over DSL for reliability reasons. I have had my Vonage line for 3 years now and it has been very reliable, with little to no problems at all. For those of you who have traditional phone service (Bell South, Verizon, GTE Etc.), you must be sick and tired of the taxes and long distance connectivity charges that keep appearing on your bill every month. Well I have good news, with Vonage you won't be paying all that crap anymore! I have the $24.99 unlimited plan and the total monthly charge including all the taxes and fees is only $30.72. The taxes and fees don't even add up to $6.00 per month. Yes it's reliable and cheap! That's just the beginning. The features you get with Vonage are fantastic. You'll get more features than you probably will ever use and none of them will cost a dime.

Oh and if you're worried about it being hard to hook up, no worries, it's a breeze with the instructions that are included with the modem when you sign up. There are 2 ways to get signed up. You can go to vonage.com (the phone adaptor is free this way only), or several retail stores (Office Depot, Staples, Comp USA Etc.). If you want to keep your current phone number, no sweat, Vonage will port that number for you. I suggest signing up at vonage.com if you want to keep your phone number. They will have your number switched over pretty quick too! If you decide to get a new number it can be with any area code you want. You could live in Florida and have an area code from California. Should you decide to pick up the modem at a retail store you will still need to activate it on-line. Another nice feature( if you're house has multiple phone jacks and you want more than one phone on that same number), is in a matter of minutes you can have all those jacks working through your Vonage number. It will not require any changes to the inside telephone wiring presently in your home. Also each modem has the capability to have 2 different phone numbers connected to it. So if you need an additional line for another member of the household or even a dedicated fax line, one modem will cover it. Should you require more than 2 seperate numbers, you will need a second modem. The standard modem (you have options) that comes with a Vonage will have 2 ports for phone lines and a port for your computer connection to the internet. They also have 4 port routers with the 2 phone ports built in. Whatever your needs, they have it. You will not need to purchase a special telephone to use Vonage, any regular phone (corded or cordless) will do. Like I said, other than a broadband connection to the internet, they will provide everything (even the cables).

Now about those free features. Your Vonage phone service will come standard with call waiting, call forwarding, voice mail (no need for an answering machine) and all those premium features. There is no extra charge for any of them. Better yet, with Vonage you can manage your features and billing directly on-line without having to call someone. Say you are going on vacation for a week and you don't want to miss any calls. No problem, in a matter of seconds by going on-line you can put in a cell phone number and all your calls will be forwarded to that number. When back home from vacation, just change it back. Also in the unlikely event of a network outage, you can put a secondary number (cell phone number) in and if a call comes in you will never miss it. Everything on your account can be accessed on-line, including all the features and billing. As far as the billing goes you won't be getting an invoice in the mail, when the account is set up you will simply enter a credit or debit card and it will be charged the same day each month. You will receive an e-mail letting you know the charge went through each time. There are no credit checks involved with a Vonage account. Each phone line only uses 90 kbps of bandwidth. So with a standard broadband ISP (about 786 kbps down), you could have multiple phones and multiple computers on-line at the same time with no problem.

I have used Vonage for years now and can honestly tell you it has served me well. Other than having to reboot the modem once in a blue moon (if no dial tone), it's been near perfect. The only real issue I have ever had is with my fax line. There have been times when sending a fax, I've had to resend it a couple times to get it through. Unless you send major faxes daily, this won't be an issue. Do you already have a DSL or Cable internet connection in your household? Still using a traditional land phone line? If so, Vonage could save you a lot of money without sacrificing any quality or reliability.