Internet Phones- just signed up~

[greatcook]

Well, it sounds like the techy talk about voip has died down, bu tI wanted to give y'all some feedback on the service I just signed up with. So far the Sunrocket set up was very smooth and fast. I did not think it was going to be that simple! We decided on the 12 month package for $199, which saves us more that $20 a month in phone bills. Thank goodness! The regular phone bill costs seem to keep getting higher and higher, and the customer service more and more mechanized. Before I switched, it was a chore to find a service rep with a 98.6 on the other end (lol). Here is one of the more recent articles I found about Sunrocket.....

Telephony on the Cheap
Sunday, December 19, 2004; Page M02
Washington Post

Love to chat but short on change? For less than $17 a month,
you can gab with relatives everywhere from Annandale to Anchorage thanks to the magic of Internet telephony -- and SunRocket's sweet holiday deal. From now until Dec. 31, the Virginia-based company is offering new customers a package that includes hardware (two wireless phones and a gizmo that connects to your existing DSL or cable modem); free local and long-distance calls nationwide; and many additional features (voice mail, call waiting, caller ID) -- all for a flat fee of $199 per year. (While other Internet phone providers in the D.C. area offer similar services, prices range from about $20 to $35 per month.) As if that weren't enough, SunRocket is throwing in a bunch of free international minutes, to boot. Something to talk about? Indeed. (For full details, see www.sunrocket.com.)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6293-2004Dec16.html

[Lrimerman]

DH is out of town, but this sounds cool. I hate our traditional phone bill, it seems like every month it costs more.

Hopefully I can get DH to check into this before tomorrow's offer expires.

Lisa

[1MegMeg]

Oooh internet phones! My SIL and BIL have Vonage (http://www.vonage.com/) and they love it! We don't have a land line (we only use our cell phones), but if we did I would definitely consider the internet route. I think my parents are going to get it because currently they are spending TONS on their phone bill each month, this is a less expensive alternative.

[mbrogier]

I've mentioned this on other internet phone threads, but it is worth bringing up again. My husband and I had vonage. In the fine print, Vonage states that it does not guarantee accurate 911 service. One night there was a bad wreck right outside our apartment and Rob tried to call 911 to report it. He got someone's voicemail at a police station in another county. He tried again and got a 911 center so far away that they had to look up our city to transfer us. It wasn't that big a deal for that situation, but if we had kids it would have been horrible if one of them had tried to call in an emergency. We dropped Vonage for this reason and connection issues we had in our area. When you need 911 sometimes you just don't have time to wait for someone to find you or connect you.

Just wanted you to know so you could check your 911 service.

[Jazzmatazz49]

I love my Do Not Call registry. I have heard it isn't in force on broadband phone service since it's not regulated. Is that true?

[Lrimerman]

That is good to know about the 911, but we will still have landlines in the house, Jay's work has phone lines installed for his office, so I can use that phone in a pinch.

Thanks

Lisa

[greatcook]

Originally posted by Jazzmatazz49
I love my Do Not Call registry. I have heard it isn't in force on broadband phone service since it's not regulated. Is that true?

That is a good question. I will have to find out if VoIP is covered under Do Not Call or under the Anti-SPAM Act... have to get back to you on that one.

I do know, however, that my provider has a very good 911 routing system, which makes me feel very safe. It is a very important feature for my family.

[jmarie]

Just tried to check availability in my area and the site is down for that feature. I guess so may people read your thread they crashed the site! :D

I called an 800 number and he said it was down for him to, that if it was up by 8:00PM, someone would call me, but if not tonight, then tomorrow.

This would save us over 50.00 if we paid the 24.95 a month, even more if we choose the 199.00 for the first year deal.

WOW!

Edited to add:

It's not in our area. I hate being in the boonies!:(

[greatcook]

Well, if SunRocket is not in your area now, chances are they will be in the next 6 months. From what I read on the website, they rolled out their national availability (they used to service certain regions...) in late December, which means they are only growing from here on out. I talked with one of the customer services reps via online chat the other day, just to ask some general questions about Voip, and they responded quickly... I have to admit it was pretty cool to converse over instant messenger iwth my voip rep instead of hanging around on the phone. They were so fast!

Well, I hope they come to your area... esp since you are looking to save money with phone bills. Paying less than $17 for our phone really has made a difference... best of luck~~ and let me know what you find out about the up-coming service in you area :) :)

[Molli526]

I hope it comes to our area soon. I would love paying $17 a month for phone.

[greatcook]

I hear ya~~ it sure is hard to beat that rate... especially when we rarely use the landline at all! It is just the cell phone and Sunrocket right now. One of the best features included is recieving my voice mails in both voice and e-mail form. No more accidentally erasing important messages! What will they think of next?

[HeatherTx]

GreatCook...are you still happy with this service? We are considering getting it but I wanted to see how you felt about it now that you have had it a little while???

[greatcook]

Hi Heather ~ to answer your question, yes, I am still happy with Sunrocket. More and more, I am getting used to using all of the cool features. The set-up went smoothly ~ no glitches. It really is a very well designed system, and the included $3 of international calling has proved to be quite a savings. I hope you sign up. IMHO, it is well worth the switch to Sunrocket. Please tell me all about it when you are up and running- or let me know if you have any questions :rolleyes: :) ;)

[leightx]

I'm intrigued by VoIP, but we have DSL through SWB (our phone provider). I don't think there's any way we can get DSL without phone service. Does anyone know different?

[greatcook]

Hi leightx- That is a very good question. It is my understanding that you do not need a phone line to get an Internet connection. You can get an Internet connection either through your cable or your phone company. The great thing about VoIP is that it works through your Internet connection, so if you are already hooked up to the Internet through your SWB phone service, you are all ready to go for VoIP. You will still need to pay SWB for your Internet, but you would not need to pay them the sometimes heafty cost of local and long distance phone service. That is great news!
Here is a page I found on the Sunrocket site that may also help answer your question~~
http://sunrocket.com/how_it_works/index.html


http://sunrocket.com/images/how_it_works/how_it_works.gif

[HeatherTx]

Thanks Greatcook. Glad to hear you are still happy with the service.

We are moving back to TX next month and are considering not even starting with a phone company at all. Once we set our cable modem back up we could just go through sunrocket at that point I believe. I think they will assign us a number. I will let you know how it all plays out. Thanks! :)

[greatcook]

Hey Heather-- So you are moving back to Texas? I hope it is warmer there than it is where I am!!;) Good to hear about Sunrocket. My friends and I have been quite pleased with the friendly customer service (how nice for a change~) and the quality. It is nice not to have a landline, we do not miss it at all...
Keep us informed on your sign-up :) I hope your move goes well. Did you hire movers? Or are you taking on the task yourselves ??

Talk to ya soon~ Best, Greatcook

[Chelle D]

Just wanted to chime in as we recently switched all of our service to Vonage. We asked about the 911 thing and were told that it is all ironed out now. ALl we had to do when we received our receiver box was go onto their website and register the box for 911 service and that was that. We had cell phones and decided to give them up. Instead of going back to a landline, this was the best and most economical by a long shot.

[greatcook]

Glad you have switched over to VoIP... How has your service been thus far? The customer service? Just curious...:)