Vonage Review Provided by Fred

I recently bought the Linksys Pap2 through my local retail store as my dad was looking for a cheaper way to make calls. On opening the box I was impressed at the dimensions of the ATA as it was a sleek silver colour with optional stand. Configuration was very straight forward. Firstly I had to create an online account via vonage's website followed by physically connecting the unit to my Linksys WRTG54 router. All went very smoothly and within a couple of minutes all the blue lights on the ATA had settled down. I picked up my dect handset and immediatley got a dialling tone!

Call Quality
I had previously been using a Freetalk adaptor (DSG) and had been happy with it except for the 1 hour call hang up and redial routine. (To avoid charges after 1 hours continous calling to one number). The call quality of the Vonage was very impressive, indistinguishable from my Telewest landline. My dad has been using it and has said he hasn't noticed any difference in call quality from his Telewest line and likes the freedom to make completely unlimited calls of any duration! Even my brother who was initially scepticle of the whole idea has turned round his opinion after using it. I myself may even switch over to Vonage eventually unless Freetalk drop the hour call charges.

Pricing
Although the monthly cost of the service is £7.99 and a pound a month more expensive than Freetalk, I think for what you are getting it is worth the extra. This makes a huge saving if your broadband provider is a cable company as you can actually get rid of your landline if you so wish. We still have a landline for incoming calls though, which leads me on to number portability.

Number Portability
The main thing holding us back from ditching our Telewest line is the fact that we cannot port our Telewest line over to Vonage or any other voip provider at present. This is a major issue for us as we do not wish to hand out a new number to everyone. I also believe this is holding back alot of people from crossing over to voip in general. Although Ofcom are making a statement on this issue in August 2006 and changing the rules on number portability by September 2006 so this may allow us to transfer the number.

Features
All the features you can obtain from BT/Telewest etc (chargeable) are all free with Vonage. I really like having all these features available to us at no extra charge and they do come in handy. I have always liked Caller Display in particular. Plus you can have all calls forwarded to a chosen number in the event you have no broadband connection.

Billing/Website
The Vonage website is very easy to follow and the account section is splendidly laid out. It's very easy to keep track of all your calls/billing information. Very intuitive.

Conclusion
Overall, I would thoroughly recommend this service to anyone looking for a no hassle switch to Voip but who is prepared to accept a small monthly charge for the service.

Fred.

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