(07/29/05)
Voice over IP (VOIP) is a pretty cool sounding technology. It sounded so cool, I dumped my Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) back in November 2004 and switched to the market leader in VOIP, Vonage.
Let me tell you, everything about Vonage sucks. Everything.
- Setup and cancellation fees
- I was charged around $41 initially, plus my first month's service. When I cancelled, I was charged another $41. I only had the service for about 7 months - I effectively paid more than $11/month extra. This also doesn't include the cost of shipping/tracking the stupid router back to Vonage for another couple bucks.
- Reliability
- I got more dropped calls than I get on my cell phone. It's pretty ridiculous when you advertise something as a replacement for your home phone line and it can't do anything right. Not only does it provide unreliable telephone service, Vonage routers tend to screw up your internet capability as well. Another thing - when your power is out, your router doesn't work.
- Audio Quality
- Calls were never clear. Sometimes the talking would be unintelligible from either side. Again, I would often hang up and just make the call with my cell phone.
- Number Portability
- Vonage neglects to tell you that some carriers do not allow for number portability. They also give no way of telling if your current phone carrier allows you to keep your number. They tell you this AFTER you've paid your $41 setup fee.
- 911
- I've never called 911. But I do know that when you dial 911, even after you've set up your geographical location with Vonage, you still don't directly call the emergency dispatcher for your area. Instead, you call someone who will send your information to the emergency dispatcher for your area. I don't know whether I trust them with an emergency. Plus, my cell phone is less likely to drop the call, and I can be sure that my wireless carrier actually knows where I am using GPS, so I'd just use the cell phone anyway.
Some things about VOIP are pretty awesome though - being able to take your router wherever you want, including overseas, etc. I'm going to wait for someone else to address the problems of reliability and quality, and probably go with them in the future. I'd rather deal with crappy calling cards than dealing with Vonage again.
