Archive for December, 2009

For the last couple of months, I’ve tested Vonage telephone services at home and on the road. It’s a new way to talk, using data packets transmitted over the Internet instead of copper wires. And Vonage is a leader in bringing this technology into the mainstream.

Overall, I’m impresssed with the results.

I’ve been checking out the Vonage World Plan—a pretty amazing value, especially for anyone making international calls. And for traveling, I can take the same phone number on the road with Vonage’s Companion program on my laptop.

First, you’ll need a high-speed Internet connection (cable or DSL). But there’s no need to be intimidated about the setup.

It’s simple.  Plug the V-Portal box into AC power, connect a network cable to the modem and plug in a touchtone phone. The V-Portal will connect to Vonage’s network and you’re ready to dial. It automatically updated the firmware while connecting for the first time.

Your computer does not need to be on to make or receive calls. And with standard telephone wiring, phones throughout your house can be connected.

The Vonage World Plan comes with a world of features—unlimited local and long-distance calling in the U.S. and Puerto Rico and landline calls to more than 60 other countries, including India, Mexico and Canada. Also included is a bundle of more than 25 calling features, such as caller ID, call waiting, visual voicemail, call transfer, call return, anonymous call block and more. In most cases, you can keep your existing phone number.

Vonage also offers some features that landline companies cannot, such as forwarding your calls to any five numbers in the world with SimulRing and converting voicemails into e-mails or text messages.

The transcription service for voicemails is truly awesome. It very accurately transcribed a test message, missing only one word—will instead of we’ll, and both sound very similar. I’m sure if I said “we will”, it would have been 100 percent.

A second test message was perfect. E-mails were received less than two minutes after the message was complete. This is much more accurate than Google Voice transcriptions, which are little more than gibberish, in my experience.

All that for $24.99 a month with a one-year commitment. Vonage works differently from traditional telcos, which offer basic service and then charge for every option. Vonage puts together an attractive bundle of options an attractive price point.

Vonage’s call quality is excellent, easily comparable to traditional landline phones. Occasionally, it would clip or drop a word, but I think that’s more the fault of my Internet Service Provider, the bankrupt Charter Communications (more on that in a bit). Even though the connection is speedy most of the time, it’s prone to significant ups and downs and network congestion.

There are some concerns that need to be considered when using the Internet for your telephone service. But Vonage has put a lot of thought and effort into addressing those concerns.

First is 911 service. In many parts of the country (and a nationwide rollout is planned), Vonage offers Enhanced 911 calling that will give your addresss to the local emergency center, even if you’re not able to speak. In other areas, calls are routed to a national center and then transferred to the nearest 911 dispatcher.

So what happens if your Internet service stops working? That’s a legitimate question, since my cable Internet service from Charter went down for 18 hours a few months ago and again for several hours during my review of Vonage. When that happens, Vonage will automatically forward your calls to another number, such as a cell phone. Hopefully, your Internet service is more reliable than Charter Communications.

And for those times when the electricity goes out, Vonage recommends using an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) for your broadband modem, phone adapter and cordless base stations.

Vonage Companion is a “softphone” which can be used on PC and Mac desktops or laptops. Companion can make and receive calls, check voicemail, use calling features such as conference calling and much more.

The call quality with Companion, again, was excellent. It can be used with a built-in microphone and speakers if your laptop has them, or with a headset.

The company also recently introduced the Vonage Mobile downloadable app for iPhone, Blackberry and Windows Mobile platforms.

Vonage backs its product with a 30-day money-back guarantee to make sure you are satisfied. And besides the world plan, the company offers other calling packages for homes and businesses. Vonage World is their most popular.

After giving it a try, my sense is that Vonage offers a solid, dependable and mature product—something I can’t say for some of the other gadgets out there that offer VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) services.

Internet telephony has come a long way in both quality and reliability. And my prediction is we’ll see more and more calls moving to the Internet in the future.