VoIP telephone...

[WoodiE]

Ok I've done it, I've jumped on the band wagon and I've signed up for SunRocket VOIP telephone service. After adding the banner to the top of the forum I kept seeing it and decided what the heck, lets give it a shot.

For now since I'm not home a whole lot I've only signed up for the $9.95 limited service which includes all kinds of cool features like caller id and stuff like that that's normally extra on a regular phone. Using this link SunRocket VOIP - I also got a free GE 5.8 GHz Handset with the deal as well, the only extra charge is the $39.50 for the phone adapter needed to convert DSL/Cable internet into a phone signal. So a whole $49.90 was my total - I even got to pick my phone number and by signing up RCNT got a lil kick back!

Anyways I'm kinda pumped about this, always thought the idea of VOIP was pretty cool and now I get to play with it. Once it comes in and I've got it setup I'll let you guys know what I think about it!



-Michael

 

[Supralover72]

Sweet! Let us know how it works out. I always wondered if there was a difference between internet phone and regular. Now I get to know!

 

[olds97_lss]

Ours isn't that cheap... we have it via comcast. I haven't really noticed any difference in quality, good or bad. What I do know is that we have unlimited long distance and local for $40 a month. Having our old phone cost us $40 a month without using it. So for us, it's like having long distance for free. Almost all of our calls are long distance so it works out nicely.

What I did notice was the size of our cable modem changed. The thing is huge. But it's one modem for both internet cable and cable phone. Another cool thing (we recently moved which is what brought this on), since he had the cable people here, they saw our old digital cable box. The guy said he had a newer model (4 years newer) in his truck and would swap it out if we wanted. I'm glad my wife said do it. It has coaxial audio out, so now most of the movies we watch on pay channels come in true 5.1 surround. Even normal TV sounds much better. I had to totally re-do the settings on our surround receiver... but it was worth it.

 

[jetmechG550]

I've been on it for about a year now. It's great unless the power goes out. We don't ever use our home phone anyway except for when my wife has to clock in for work. She works from home and the number she calls in from has to be a land line (they'll take a cell under certain circumstances). One feature I like alot it is call filtering. You can set up numbers, names or if there is no number or name to get bounced to never neverland or straight to voicemail. So being on the No Call List that feature takes care of the other organizations that still think it's ok to call.

 

[msly]

WoodiE,

I have been using sunrocket for a year now and never had a problem. There are a ton a features I use..... I especially like the find you forward service. If I am away at my brothers house I set it so that if someone calls my house and if I don't answer in 4 rings it goes to my cell and if I don't answer my cell it will ring my brothers home number.... great if you are expecting an important call...... I paid the flat fee $200 bucks for a year...... with free phones...


sLY

 

[robriguez]

We just switched to "Optimum Voice" through our Cable provider. We were paying about $80/month just for service and another $30-40 in long distance calls n such. Since we already have Cable TV and Cable Internet they gave us a $15 flat rate US/Canada/PR and $20 flat rate for up to 500 minutes of international dialing (which we almost use up every month). All we had to do was disconnect ourselves from the line to the street, plug the VOIP modem into the router then plug into our existing wiring in the house and all extensions were immediatly active. I LOVE that they have a web interface to allow you to see your usage, recent calls, turn on and off features, etc.

 

[Monkey Wrench]

I really am a fan of VoIP technology and it is improving daily. My only fear is, and remains, the 911 capability of VoIP.

Being in the telecom industry for 15 years now, building switches and installing the technology that drives not only the traditional Public Switched Telephone Network but VoIP, I know first-hand how 911 circuits are treated, routed, prioritized and switched at the Central Office. While residential VoIP is making strides in being able to call up name, address and additional information on a 911 call, there are still some limitations, DEPENDING ON LOCATION AND PROVIDER, of VoIP to give a 911 dispatcher the information he/she needs in the event the caller cannot speak for some reason.

The FCC has mandated a 2008 requirement for all VoIP providers to meet that criteria and many are well on there way, but there are a few that are behind and may not meet that target.

As a father of two, it's critical that any 911 call from my home register all the information the dispatcher needs to send police/fire/rescue to my house if the caller is unaware of our address (say, babysitter) or cannot speak. Once the VoIP providers meet that criteria, I'll consider the move. Since we use our mobile phones for any LD calls and never need international dialing, we're in no real rush.

I am a big fan of the technology, I just would like to see it mature a bit more before I make the jump.

 

[WoodiE]

My only fear is, and remains, the 911 capability of VoIP.

You may honestly want to take a look at SunRocket then.

Does SunRocket provide 911 (emergency dialing) service?
SunRocket provides Enhanced 911 service at no extra charge. SunRocket was the first VoIP company to provide Enhanced 911 as an automatic benefit with any service plan. The safety of our members is important, and we have built a network that supports the most sophisticated 911 technology available to the VoIP industry.

With Enhanced 911, your call is routed to the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) supporting the service address you registered with your account. The emergency operator receives the name, address, and origination phone number of the caller. With this service, the caller does not need to verbally give their location to the operator.

While Enhanced 911 is the most advanced form of Emergency Dialing Service available, there are some limitations when it is provided by a VoIP provider such as SunRocket. Therefore, you should always have an alternative means of accessing emergency service.

- - - -

At any rate I've got the phone and the service and so far love it. I'm using Insight cable internet access and have had no problems with the quality of the service. In fact not one person I've talked to could tell the difference.

I'd also like to make a shameless plug - those of you that do have SunRocket voip service or thinking about getting check out www.SunRocket-Forum.com another forum I've created. Currently we're holding a contest for one free year of SunRocket VoIP service as well as giving away two panasonic 5.8Ghz phones. If you sign up using our link I'll also pay the first two months (based on the limited plan).

Check it out, www.sunrocket-forum.com



-Michael