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VoIP - 1/27/2010 10:06:53 PM
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19ramman85
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Will be getting hooked-up w/ VoIp w/in the nxt couple of wks - and was wondering what y'all preference of VoIp providers y'all have.
And was also wondering about opinions about majicjack, if anyone has tried it
Thanx
-charles
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RE: VoIP - 1/27/2010 11:19:14 PM
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psaulm119
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We've had good luck with Vonage, although last time I checked they weren't the cheapest around--other providers were beating them for the same service by 5 bucks/mo.
I know this has come up several times in the past few years--you might want to do a search in this forum.
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RE: VoIP - 1/28/2010 9:17:47 AM
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neuronstatic
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There have been several threads that have discussed VoIP. Do a search in this forum. I can't remember the specific threads.
You mentioned MagicJack, my mother-in-law has used it for about a year now. No serious negative comments I have heard. As with any VoIP system, the quality will be dependent on the quality of your internet connection. If you have ample bandwidth, you should be fine. If you have drops in service, bandwidth, or even bursty loads on your home network, the quality will go down. Just something to keep in mind.
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RE: VoIP - 1/28/2010 9:21:17 AM
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DaveW
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We had vonage and hated it.
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RE: VoIP - 1/28/2010 11:08:12 PM
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A-Mighty-Oak
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I am just curious as to why people hate Vonage and other VIOP services. What issues have you had with them?
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RE: VoIP - 1/29/2010 7:27:53 AM
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DaveW
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On our end it was usually OK but most people on the other end of the line heard huge gaps and then our words were compressed like those mandatory statements at the end of commercials, so condensed that you can barely understand what is being said.
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RE: VoIP - 1/29/2010 9:14:44 AM
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neuronstatic
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DaveW, what you describe, the mouse-speaking kind of voice, sounds more like a bandwidth connection problem. You hear it fine in your direction because your download bandwidth is fairly high. But they hear you bad because your upload bandwidth is typically much lower than the download bandwidth.
Most home connections are asymmetric, that is, the upstream and downstream bandwidth are different. Traditionally, most home users are heavy downloaders and light uploaders. This model is changing somewhat, but that is the model the service providers still use as the basis for their offerings.
This is why most IT companies go the extra expense of having dedicated T1 lines (or other similar lines) installed to provide symmetric bandwidth - the upstream and downstream rates are equal.
My brother-in-law has VoIP service from his cable company over his cable connection. But when he ordered it, they specifically upped his uplink rate significantly to support smooth VoIP. All the handsets in his house connect to the VoIP router. If you were not told it was VoIP, you would never know. They buy standard cordless handsets from anywhere and they work with this system.
The point?
Before adding VoIP on to your Internet connection, check your bandwidth limits against those that other users in VoIP forums have found to work well. The VoIP providers may tell you it will work fine with XXX downlink and YYY uplink, but that may just be sales lies.
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RE: VoIP - 1/29/2010 9:34:37 AM
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Eutychus
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Several years ago when I worked at a local Sony manufacturing plant, one of the engineers used SKYPE.com daily to talk with his counterpart in Japan. He seemed like it a lot.
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RE: VoIP - 1/30/2010 3:19:15 AM
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A-Mighty-Oak
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I had Comcast VIOP, I was happy with it most of the time, but then again they dedicate their lines exclusively to that without any internet throttling at all.
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RE: VoIP - 1/30/2010 9:24:46 AM
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psaulm119
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You can check bandwidth by doing a speed test. www.speakeasy.net has links to theirs on their home page--dig around the bottom. Also, www.dslreports.com has their own speedtests linked on their homepage. They give you download and upload speeds. They typically warn you not to do anything else online while you are running the test (like talking on the phone if you have VOIP, or downloading files....).
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Let no offensive talk pass your lips, only what is good and helpful to the occasion, so that it brings a blessing to those who hear it. (Eph 4:29)
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RE: VoIP - 1/31/2010 9:42:27 AM
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neuronstatic
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Like it was said, you can run speed tests, I use dslreports.com but you can google "speed test" and find others.
But also, if you have high-speed Internet, you should have some indication of the service level/speed you are paying for. It is typically marked on your bill or your online support site.
For example, my DSL service plan is 6 mbps down and 512 kbps up. But in actual use, its typically measured at 5.1 - 5.4 mbps down and about 470 - 500 kbps up.
If you run the dsreports speed tests, pick lightly loaded servers relatively close to you.
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RE: VoIP - 1/31/2010 9:58:33 AM
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19ramman85
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Speakeasy said I was - Download Speed: 1336 kbps (167 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 324 kbps (40.5 KB/sec transfer rate)
And dslreport said I was - 1260/296 w/ a latency of 149
And Vonage sys I'm runnin' - 1353/319
Not too bad #'s, eh?
-charles
< Message edited by 19ramman85 -- 1/31/2010 10:05:20 AM >
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RE: VoIP - 1/31/2010 10:13:13 AM
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19ramman85
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quote:
ORIGINAL: neuronstatic
According to some posters in vonage forums, that should be sufficient. I would add the caveat that if you are using the VoIP phone, you may want to limit heavy internet use at that time.
Yeah, I hear that can be somewhat of an issue, however - since the bulk of our ph calls are bill collectors anyways ......... lol
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RE: VoIP - 1/31/2010 4:08:44 PM
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A-Mighty-Oak
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quote:
ORIGINAL: neuronstatic
According to some posters in vonage forums, that should be sufficient. I would add the caveat that if you are using the VoIP phone, you may want to limit heavy internet use at that time.
If you have a DSL line, that "shouldn't" be a problem. I say shouldn't because you never know on internet traffic on a whole.
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RE: VoIP - 1/31/2010 5:51:45 PM
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DaveW
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quote:
ORIGINAL: neuronstatic
DaveW, what you describe, the mouse-speaking kind of voice, sounds more like a bandwidth connection problem. You hear it fine in your direction because your download bandwidth is fairly high. But they hear you bad because your upload bandwidth is typically much lower than the download bandwidth. I took the speed test on speakeasy psaulm119 suggested. 17521 kbps download, 2325 upload.
That must have been the problem.
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RE: VoIP - 1/31/2010 6:21:11 PM
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psaulm119
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over 2 megs/sec upload should be more than enough. Yeah its not as much as your download, but that is still much better than a lot of people running VOIP. I don't think it was your bandwidth that was the problem there.
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Let no offensive talk pass your lips, only what is good and helpful to the occasion, so that it brings a blessing to those who hear it. (Eph 4:29)
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RE: VoIP - 2/1/2010 6:54:40 AM
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DaveW
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That was what the numbers were that came up.
Of course Comcast has done a lot of work in our area and upgraded our bandwidth last year. I am sure it was less than that back when we had vonage. We ditched it about the same time comcast came out with their own voip. (maybe not having someone else to blame was why they needed to up thier baud rate)
_____________________________
Avatar is my son Caleb and Leah on their wedding 12/20/09
=======================
Winner of 2010 "best in "He Says"
=======================
Our CD is available here:
http://cdbaby.com/cd/dswaggoner
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RE: VoIP - 2/5/2010 2:02:42 PM
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wretched1
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I know that this thread is a few days old - but I would like to toss in two comments:
Speedtest.net is yet another testing site - it is easy for me to remember the URL and I don't have to hunt for the link to start the test.
magicJack has a lot of satisfied customers and a number of complaints against it w/ the BBB. It took years and a lot of complaining to get them to provide a tool to uninstall the application from your computer - even then, it is a separate download (not part of the installation).
Here is the BBB link: http://www.seflorida.bbb.org/Business-Report/Magic-Jack-LP-92003333
The "numbers" are near the bottom - to the right of those numbers is this note:
quote:
Agency: Florida Attorney General
Description: On April 15, 2009 Attorney General Bill McCollum announced that his Economic Crimes Division has reached a settlement with a Palm Beach County business over allegations the company marketed a “free” 30-day trial for its long distance phone equipment, but actually charged and debited consumers during the trial. MagicJack, LP markets MagicJack a phone service product which connects a household phone to a computer, allowing consumers to make unlimited long distance calls over the internet.
The investigation into the company’s practices began in July 2008 after the Attorney General’s Office received numerous complaints about the supposed “free” trial. Consumers reported that although the company advertised the 30-day free trial offer, customers were allegedly still being billed during the trial period. The investigation further determined that the product had limitations which were not properly disclosed and that the company had a lack of sufficient customer service to address consumer complaints.
As part of the settlement, the company has agreed to implement various new practices to assist its customers, including a guarantee that all inquires will be responded to within 24 business hours and a disclaimer on the first page of its website clarifying the eligibility requirements to participate in a free trial offer. The company will also reimburse the state for the costs associated with the investigation and has fully resolved over 500 customer complaints. MagicJack, LP cooperated fully with the Attorney General’s investigation and has resolved over 500 consumer complaints since the investigation began.
Date of Action: 4/15/2009 ...but again - a lot of people are happy with the service.
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RE: VoIP - 2/5/2010 2:28:10 PM
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19ramman85
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Ja - that's just it ....... there seems to be alot of good/bad about magicjack. I guees it's one of those ....... ya get what ya pay for deals.
Think i'm just gonna stick w/ Vonage, or like.
One big concern i have - is I have ran a few of those tests ......... And they tell me that, although I can have Voip - I may/may not lose voice (latency is not good enough).
-charles
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RE: VoIP - 2/6/2010 12:42:21 PM
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19ramman85
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Just kinda laughing to myself about one thing I have been reading about VoIP service.
Everyone of them say that if you don't have power (electricity) - you won't have ph service, either.
Well, no duh! lol ....... I coulda told them that!
And - "Why", should that be an issue (for my house) anyways, when the whole idea was to get rid of the old landline, because we all have cell phones in my house!
I realize they are talking in generalities, and there may be a few that don't have a cell phone, and dont know that - and this is nothing more than a lil' rant .......... but I needed to get it off my chest.
Thanks for reading my rant ;)
-charles
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RE: VoIP - 2/6/2010 1:05:09 PM
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wretched1
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quote:
ORIGINAL: 19ramman85
~~~
Everyone of them say that if you don't have power (electricity) - you won't have ph service, either.~~~ It depends on the service provider. Verizon FIoS offers VoIP and uses a battery backup at the home level that claims to give you 15 minutes of phone service after a power outage. You can change that out for a larger UPS or a generator. As long as you can power their Optical Network Translator mounted at your site, you should have their VoIP phone service.
...or just use a cell - assuming that the cell towers are operational.
And for those that cannot afford cellular service, keep/get an unactivated cell around/charged - it should still be able to contact 911.
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RE: VoIP - 2/6/2010 1:26:44 PM
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A-Mighty-Oak
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If you have battery back up, you will not have to worry about not having power. Now if you have a phone that needs electricity, then that would still go out during a power failure.
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