After 3 years of having a personal cell phone and a few months of having $200+ phone bills, I decided that I didnt like Verizon Wireless, Sprint, Cingular etc… I had heard about these *new* Internet telephones /VOIP / IP Phones (they go by many names) and decided to give one a try. So, I did my research. My requirements were as follows:
Requirements
- Able to use a regular phone
- Doesn’t require a computer
- Must have cheap international rates
- Must be reasonable sound quality
My family lives in London and I work for a company that deals with customers worldwide so I make phonecalls overseas in the evening after work and on the weekends. I narrowed my search down to two providers - Vonage and Packet 8. What sold me on Packet 8 was the cheaper plan (19.99 per month gets you unlimited nationwide calls) and cheaper international rates ($0.02 per minute to London).
After using Packet 8 for several months now, here are my conclusions…
Good
- Rates are really that good! After the $19.99, I spend about $3 - 4 additional on international calls.
- Simultaneous ringing - I can forward my home phone to ring on my work cell phone (and at home) when I am out
- Voicemail to email - To archive your voicemail, packet8 can send it to you in your email. You can then send it on to relevant people or keep a record for yourself
- I can bring my box with me anywhere there is a broadband connection and have my Texas phone number (better and cheaper coverage than most cell phone providers)
- Price - I cant accentuate this enough - Cell phones are a ripoff. I was paying $55 a month for a cell phone (verizon) and then I spent about $20 in international calls on a calling card (to save money). I use the phone about as much and pay $25
Bad
- It doesnt always ring! (when you dial) This can be annoying because you doubt that the call is going through
- Doesnt always connect either
- Some countries have terrible sound quality (Taiwan) and bad delay (Singapore, Australia) - Some worse than my cell phone
- Not easy to connect up to every phone outlet in the house (I hear it is possible though!)
- Does not have 100% uptime - they are basically limited to both your internet provider and the various internet providers they use around the world to guarantee that calls go through. There have been about 2 outages that affected all Packet 8 users and a few times that my cable connection was down + a couple of power outages. I fixed the power problem and have my Cable modem, router and Packet 8 box on a battery backup so I can make calls even without power
- Packet 8 was incompetent and unable to port my old cell phone number to this line
- Limited 911 service
Conclusion
As a 2nd phone for home, this is an excellent solution. With a IP telephone, you experience many similar annoyances to having a cell phone. However, at minimal cost, and great international and national rates, why wouldnt you use it! The uptime and call quality will sort itself out and eventually IP phones will increase in reliability in line with your cable / dsl provider. I would highly recommend Packet 8 as long as you are aware of and accept the possible draw backs.
Other information
Packet 8
Vonage
The Economist: The phone call is dead; long live the phone call
Another Review (probably better than mine)