Vonage-how are you finding the service?

[fred]

Hi
I am thinking of getting Vonage and was wondering how people are getting along with it. Any user opinions out there?
Thanks
Fred.

[mattpark]

Even though im UK based I used Vonage US when they were first conceived.

As with all huge companies, i found them excellent when they were new, and as they have grow I’ve found that their service has degraded.

Advanced functions have been removed in favour of simple "user friendly" functions - most likely to ease the strain on their support system.

I haven't used them in a while, but im under the impression you have to use their hardware with their service.

Also like all large companies, upfront they seem cheap, until you find out that everything you do to your account has at least a £15 admin charge. You'll find there is a huge cancellation charge too.

IMHO, vonage is a great next step on from skype, but if you know what your doing with VoIP I’d go for a different provider.

Matt :roll:

[fred]

Hi Mattpark
Could you be more specific as to how you feel the Vonage service has degraded in your opinion?
You see I need a simple voip solution for the house as anything more complex will upset everybody!

[mattpark]

Fred,

I should say that when i used vonage they were a fairly new company, it's been a long while since then, so their service now may be vastly different from my experiance.

If your looking for a simple, family proof provider, Vonage may be right for you. Their whole angle on VoIP is much more "plug and play" than most sip providers. One hardware box, a few converters, and your off.

As i said, you'll have to wait for someone else to come along and comment on their service in recent times...

Matt :D

[Dan Dare]

I'm using freetalk. It's similar to Vonage in that you plug a DTA into your broadband connection. Both services' DTAs are locked to the respective service (which is no big deal). If you're connecting to broadband through a modem-router, the freetalk device really is "plug and play". Also, you don't need your PC switched on (unlike using a USB phone or a headset plugged into your PC). I've found the freetalk service to be very good - no change since I bought it some months ago. Most people don't know I'm using VoIP when I call them wth it. Cheers, Dan

[mattpark]

Welcome to the forum Dan.

I think call quality is very specific to each persons setup, but at the end of the day, as long as you have bandwidth you can tinker with VoIP to make your calls match and in most cases better normal calls over PSTN.

I often find calls to mobiles are a little choppy, but tinkering with codec choices often resolves my issues. Im using VoIPFone and AQL at the moment.

Matt

[mattpark]

Dan,

Would you consider writing a quick review on FreeTalk an PM'ing it accross to me so i could add it to our reviews section here - http://ukvoiptalk.com/viewtopic.php?t=22 ?

Matt

[fred]

Hi Matt
I am using Freetalk too! Would you like me to submit a review as well? Fred.

[mattpark]

Fred,

Thanks for the offer... that would be excellent!

[Barry Mung]

Talking to my friends in the usa last night,it seems from what they say vonage may be on the way out. Like vodafone uk,they have purchased quite a few other companys,so we will have to wait and see.
Their losses last year were nowhere near vodafones,but any loss is usually reflected on the customer,or the inevitible end of said company.