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Peter Stahl
01-15-2005, 10:05 PM
Does anyone use a Broadband phone service like Vonage? They all seem to have really good prices. How does it actually work, do you have to have a special phone(s)? Thanks for any help.

Pete

Matt Meiser
01-15-2005, 11:17 PM
Does anyone use a Broadband phone service like Vonage? They all seem to have really good prices. How does it actually work, do you have to have a special phone(s)? Thanks for any help.

Pete

A friend of mine is using it and is fairly happy. They have a device that goes between their house's phone wiring and their router. I did notice once when talking to him that it was breaking up, kind of like a cell phone. He ended his VPN session and the problem went away.

The big drawback I see is that Enhanced 911 doesn't work. This means that if you call 911, they won't be able to find you unless you are able to tell them where you are.

Jim Becker
01-16-2005, 12:30 AM
I did notice once when talking to him that it was breaking up, kind of like a cell phone. He ended his VPN session and the problem went away.
Until the network can provide "Quality of Service" which prioritizes voice over other traffic in this case (and consumer grade broadband doesn't have it today), this will continue to be a problem. What you were experiencing was other traffic "stepping" on the voice packets. Voice is a "real time" kind of communication. Network delay (latency) affects it although some can be tolerated and varience in that delay (jitter) is even worse. Unlike email, etc., you can't retransmit voice packets if they are lost, held up or received out of order.


The big drawback I see is that Enhanced 911 doesn't work. This means that if you call 911, they won't be able to find you unless you are able to tell them where you are.
Most of these services specifically remind you that you still need to have a normal POTS (plain old telephone service) line available for emergency use. And if they don't, they should.

Glenn Clabo
01-16-2005, 5:07 AM
I have Cox for all three services...digital cable (HD and DVR), internet (Always close to 5 Mbps and upstream speeds of 768Kbps), and telephone which I believe is different than Vonage, but it comes in through the same fiber optic line. All the service, especially customer service, has been beyond expectations. Rarely lose any tv/internet service and only momentary...but telephone only once when a truck took out a pole down the street.

Jim Becker
01-16-2005, 10:32 AM
Glenn, your service is very different than the "Vonage" type things...it's truely set up as a local telephone service alternative to the tradidional LEC. The other differentiator is that your provider has both the service and the infrastructure...the latter is the key point: You are riding on their "wire" (which in this case is fiber). Vonage and other such services require "you" to provide the infrastructure via a third party; usually your cable or DSL service. The responsibilties are different as are the "Service Level Agreements" in these two models.

Glenn Clabo
01-16-2005, 11:10 AM
That's what I figured Jim. That also explains why it can be "cheaper". I would guess that if I wanted to dump my Cox phone service and use their broadband infrastructure for Vonage type service they wouldn't be happy...and frankly I'm not changing anything. It works too well right now to try and save a few bucks with an experiment.

Jim Becker
01-16-2005, 11:17 AM
Glenn, you have a good situation having one provider for both service and infrastructure! It's still competition for the traditional LEC, but without the "line sharing" that has been the "competitive" map in the past.

A "secret source" of mine (who also happens to be a woodworker and SMC member) messaged me last week that my area is "on the map" for Verizon's roll out of their FIOS (fiber to the prem) service, hopefully in 2005. That's really exciting to me and I'll jump on that bandwagon no question for increased Internet access speeds as well as opportunities for new technologies. Working for a communications technology company makes lots of neat things available to me, but without the right infrastructure, I can't do some of the things I'd like to do, such as connect my "lab" rack to my groups facilities in Miami and Denver cleanly and effectively. My current DSL service, while T1 speed "in" (1.5mbs), is only 128kbs upstream and that just doesn't cut it for doing "real work".

Matt Meiser
01-16-2005, 1:30 PM
A "secret source" of mine (who also happens to be a woodworker and SMC member) messaged me last week that my area is "on the map" for Verizon's roll out of their FIOS (fiber to the prem) service, hopefully in 2005. That's really exciting to me and I'll jump on that bandwagon no question for increased Internet access speeds as well as opportunities for new technologies.

Your source can probably confirm that my area is on Verizon's map to officially be the LAST place to get FIOS! We were having noise problems and the tech told me that 1 mile of cable we are on (of the 6 back to the CO) was installed in the 50's.

Jim Becker
01-16-2005, 1:41 PM
Matt...the good news is that the FIOS service doesn't use that old wire. It's a fiber optic offer and the fiber is terminated right in your house, not on the pole or at the CO down the street. That still doesn't mean you'll get it when you like it, however....I had to wait two years to get DSL, even though this is an area that the service would be popular given the demographics and the fact that the CO is less than a mile down the street. Literally, 6000' feet "via the wire". I just can't understand what Verizon was thinking at that time! Cable got a big jump because of that delay and I didn't switch to DSL until I ran them side by side for a month and did a lot of comparison testing. DSL is effectively slower on the down link than Cable, but it was more consistant over the day. So I switched.

Matt Meiser
01-16-2005, 1:55 PM
We had fiber service at our old house. When I bought the house I was worried about what kind of service I was going to get from "Deerfield Farmers Telephone Company" Turns out they had one of the most advanced systems in the country. For about $100/mo we got cable, phone, and high speed internet. Now we pay $160/mo to get low quality phone service, satellite internet, and satellite TV.

John Shuk
01-16-2005, 4:19 PM
Matt,
Please remember that 50 year old cable has kept food on my table and tools in my basement for the past 9 years. It'll be a shame to see that stuff go. If i'm not mistaken you are in a Verizon turf that is sort of an island in the middle of the SBC ocean. It will be interesting to see if VZ keeps those areas once the FIOS ball really gets rolling. If FIOS turns out to be as good as we are hoping then your area would be a prime benefactor for this type service as the reliability of fiber optic cable is much better. Lets all hope this works well because it will spread across the country and really open up alot of new technology. The current speeds for download on FIOS DSL is 5mbps up to about 30mbps depending on the service you order with video to be offered later this year. In the near future I'm told they envision TERRABITS PER SECOND! That is going to be huge. As a technician I am hopeful that it works becasue this is my future..

Peter,
Now for the present. Here in NY Verizon offers what is called Freedom package which I have had for a while. Previously I was paying $59.95 a month for unlimited local, LD, and regional LD. I got call ID, call waiting, home voice mail, and some other stuff. They now offer the same service with No voice mail and No unlimited to Canada for $49.95 and $44.95 if you couple it with DSL. I say this strictly as a consumer not an employee because my phone bill used to be $180.00 a month even with my paltry concession. Now I pay $44.95 plus taxes. I don't know if NJ has that offer but to get TRUE telephone service for that price is worth every penny. Give a call to the Customer service dept. to see what they offer.
John

Peter Stahl
01-16-2005, 7:11 PM
Matt,

thanks for the reply. The phone thing won't be very cheep if you have to keep a phone line too.

Pete

Peter Stahl
01-16-2005, 7:19 PM
Peter,
Now for the present. Here in NY Verizon offers what is called Freedom package which I have had for a while. Previously I was paying $59.95 a month for unlimited local, LD, and regional LD. I got call ID, call waiting, home voice mail, and some other stuff. They now offer the same service with No voice mail and No unlimited to Canada for $49.95 and $44.95 if you couple it with DSL. I say this strictly as a consumer not an employee because my phone bill used to be $180.00 a month even with my paltry concession. Now I pay $44.95 plus taxes. I don't know if NJ has that offer but to get TRUE telephone service for that price is worth every penny. Give a call to the Customer service dept. to see what they offer.
John

John,

Thanks, I looked on the Verison site and the have a $4.00 International Choice plan (plus the 49.95) and it's $0.05/minute. I can't currently get DSL where I live but have Comcast cable/internet.

Pete