Get rid of your phone - ZEFRANK.COM

nycwriters · 03-06-2004, 12:35 AM

About two months ago, I signed up with Vonage ... it's a digital streaming telephone system that allows you to get rid of Verizon or whatever telephone company you have.

I don't know what your monthly phone fees are for you, but if you factor in your regular telephone line -- that runs about $35, and then whatever long distance plan you have; you can be paying upwards of $50 or $60 a month for a telephone after taxes and regulatory fees.

At one point I was using just my cell phone as my only phone, but I found that it wasn't as reliable as a regular house phone because reception was sometimes spotty.

Vonage is extremely cool. You are sent a motorola router (free rental) that you hook up to your existing DSL or cable modem service (sorry, this doesn't work with dialup for the Internet). Instantly you have a regular phone line -- and it's all through your Internet connection.

I picked the $14.95 a month dealy-o. That gives me 500 minutes a month to call anywhere in the US and Canada -- much like the nationwide minute deals you get with a cell phone.

However, all incoming phone calls do not count against your minutes. It's only outgoing minutes that are deducted from your total. If you go over your 500 minutes, it's just 7 cents a minute.

I've yet to hit 100 minutes a month, but I don't make a lot of outgoing phone calls.

You can also set up your entire phone system online with your account at vonage. You can set up a 911 service -- you just plug in the street address.

If your Internet goes down -- you have vonage automatically forward your calls to another number -- I use my cell. And there are a lot of other really neat options.

The best and neatest part of the system is that you can pick your area code. Yep, that's right. Let's say you're living in Boston, and all your friends and family live in Los Angeles. You can pick a Los Angeles area code, WHILE living in Boston, so that all your friends and family are making LOCAL calls when they give you a call -- and remember all incoming calls are free.

The other bonus is that if you move, the number goes with you -- no matter where you move to (in the USA). They say you can configure it so that you can set up an account in another country, but you'd have to have lived in the US first to get the router.

I know people who get this as a secondary phone just for relatives in other cities.

The sound quality is surprisingly good. It uses digital technology and it sounds like a regular phone line. It is nothing like the old peer to peer online telephone systems that used to exist, those had horrendous lag times and were generally unreliable.

The only problems I've run into is when my DSL goes down, then the phone doesn't work. But that doesn't happen often. Sometimes I have to reboot the motorola router, but again, that's something that is fixed in about two minutes simply by unplugging it and then plugging it back in. And that doesn't happen often either.

I find I notice no difference in connection speed when the motorola is hooked up, when I'm using the phone at the same time as the Internet.

Anyhow, I found this such a great bargain that I had to share it.

Cheers.

Audreyvgs · 03-06-2004, 02:39 AM

That is so cool!!!

priceyfatprude · 03-06-2004, 03:50 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by nycwriters
I've yet to hit 100 minutes a month, but I don't make a lot of outgoing phone calls.

Yes & let's talk about that, shall we?

Frieda · 03-06-2004, 11:34 AM

there's software somewhere on the net that you can use to call over dsl.

i'm not sure what it's called, i'll try to find it..

Wldchld · 03-06-2004, 11:39 PM

Thanks for the info. Between our dsl and long distance (lots of long distance!) our bill can get pretty high.

nycwriters · 05-26-2004, 09:55 PM

Woo hoo! I just got my Ottawa virtual number added. They now do it in Canada.

So I gave my friends and family a "virtual" number -- 613-Ottawa area code ... they call that local number and it rings here in NYC.

All incoming minutes are free, it's not long distance for them to call, it's such a win-win situation.

And in five months of use, my service has never gone down. Very pleased.

Yay!

masterofNone · 05-26-2004, 10:17 PM

based on your recommendation i signd up last month. works like a charm, cut my phone bill virtually in half, and i can call the girl in kansas city and gab for three hours at a stretch for free. very good advice. thanks.

oh, and my son & his fiancee just signed up and i got a month of free service.

nycwriters · 05-26-2004, 11:20 PM

Glad it's working out for you!

It is brilliant -- isn't it?

masterofNone · 05-26-2004, 11:39 PM

brilliant!

weissenflatz · 05-27-2004, 06:51 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Frieda
there's software somewhere on the net that you can use to call over dsl.

i'm not sure what it's called, i'll try to find it..

I use skype to call over the internet, it's free.

the downside is that the you're talking to also needs a computer with this program installed.

But all it takes is a pc, internet connection, speakers and a microphone.

take a look at skype

red · 05-27-2004, 11:46 AM

I canceled my phone when we went with a cable modem.
We use our cell phones for everything else.
FVCK YOU SBC!!

The only thing I have a problem with is when people ask for a phone number on a check. The first time that happened I told them I didn't have one. That caused such an ordeal I just make one up know. If something is wrong with the check, the bank will contact me.

LadyCrow · 05-27-2004, 01:02 PM

We got Vonage here @ work a while ago, & we use it to make personal calls. It's been working fine, but there was some weird snafu; I think it had something to do with the little box they sent us. We got a new one, & it's been working fairly well since then.

What's weird is that occasionally, after one of us makes a call & hangs up, it'll ring immediately afterwards. Could be possessed for all I know.

:: shrugs ::

Smartypants · 09-09-2004, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by weissenflatz
I use skype to call over the internet, it's free.

the downside is that the you're talking to also needs a computer with this program installed.

But all it takes is a pc, internet connection, speakers and a microphone.

take a look at skype

I just got Skype. It's quite amazing (and now runs on Mac OS X as well as on PCs).

You can call land or phone lines (for a small cost) or talk free from computer to computer. The sound quality is amazingly good, even using the little pinhole mic on my iBook -- it even works on dial-up lines, and you can conference up to 5 people together.

09-09-2004, 10:34 PM

This technology- using your computer to make phone calls over the IP network- has been around for a while. It is now called VoIP, for Voice over IP. There are a number of different companies offering VoIP service, Vonage being one of the big ones. Basically, they allow you to call someone over an IP network; that IP network then streams the data to a computer in the area of the recipient of your phone call- thus the appearence of a local call on their end- and has that computer call that person on their normal or computer phone. An added benefit of such companies as Vonage is that if you call someone else using the same technology as you, the phone calls are free- you can make unlimited domestic long-distance calls!

There are a number of software applications that allow you to do this as well, and some of them provide high-grade encryption to make your computer act like a secure phone. Software prices range from arond $30 to free. The catch is that the person on the other end has to have the same software, so issues such as operating system compatibility become important. Also, these applications cannot call someone on a regular phone line- the call has to be made through the recipient’s computer.

If you live in California, Nevada, Arizona, or Texas, there is a calling card, distributed in 99¢ only stores, that allows you to talk for a penny a minute to anywhere in the US and for very low rates to a number of international locations. This calling card also uses an IP network, routing your phone call through the IP network and having a computer at the other end call your recipient. One catch to the 99¢ store Nationwide Calling Card is that you can only talk in 30 minute increments. Then the network hangs up on you, and you have to redial the number.

Since this technology involves IP networks, your phone call is forwarded through many different computers and all the numbers you call, how long you spoke, and other things are recorded in a database.

09-09-2004, 10:39 PM

[php]Here is the website of the company that makes the 99¢ store nationwide calling cards. They offer some interesting phone services.

03-06-2004, 12:35 AM	#1
nycwriters Stuck in T.O. Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Floundering Posts: 4,134	Get rid of your phone About two months ago, I signed up with Vonage ... it's a digital streaming telephone system that allows you to get rid of Verizon or whatever telephone company you have. I don't know what your monthly phone fees are for you, but if you factor in your regular telephone line -- that runs about $35, and then whatever long distance plan you have; you can be paying upwards of $50 or $60 a month for a telephone after taxes and regulatory fees. At one point I was using just my cell phone as my only phone, but I found that it wasn't as reliable as a regular house phone because reception was sometimes spotty. Vonage is extremely cool. You are sent a motorola router (free rental) that you hook up to your existing DSL or cable modem service (sorry, this doesn't work with dialup for the Internet). Instantly you have a regular phone line -- and it's all through your Internet connection. I picked the $14.95 a month dealy-o. That gives me 500 minutes a month to call anywhere in the US and Canada -- much like the nationwide minute deals you get with a cell phone. However, all incoming phone calls do not count against your minutes. It's only outgoing minutes that are deducted from your total. If you go over your 500 minutes, it's just 7 cents a minute. I've yet to hit 100 minutes a month, but I don't make a lot of outgoing phone calls. You can also set up your entire phone system online with your account at vonage. You can set up a 911 service -- you just plug in the street address. If your Internet goes down -- you have vonage automatically forward your calls to another number -- I use my cell. And there are a lot of other really neat options. The best and neatest part of the system is that you can pick your area code. Yep, that's right. Let's say you're living in Boston, and all your friends and family live in Los Angeles. You can pick a Los Angeles area code, WHILE living in Boston, so that all your friends and family are making LOCAL calls when they give you a call -- and remember all incoming calls are free. The other bonus is that if you move, the number goes with you -- no matter where you move to (in the USA). They say you can configure it so that you can set up an account in another country, but you'd have to have lived in the US first to get the router. I know people who get this as a secondary phone just for relatives in other cities. The sound quality is surprisingly good. It uses digital technology and it sounds like a regular phone line. It is nothing like the old peer to peer online telephone systems that used to exist, those had horrendous lag times and were generally unreliable. The only problems I've run into is when my DSL goes down, then the phone doesn't work. But that doesn't happen often. Sometimes I have to reboot the motorola router, but again, that's something that is fixed in about two minutes simply by unplugging it and then plugging it back in. And that doesn't happen often either. I find I notice no difference in connection speed when the motorola is hooked up, when I'm using the phone at the same time as the Internet. Anyhow, I found this such a great bargain that I had to share it. Cheers. Last edited by nycwriters : 03-06-2004 at 12:44 AM.

03-06-2004, 11:34 AM	#4
Frieda in limbo Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 19,503	there's software somewhere on the net that you can use to call over dsl. i'm not sure what it's called, i'll try to find it.. __________________ zoek waar je wil, maar het zit in jezelf oh yeah

03-06-2004, 11:39 PM	#5
Wldchld in the middle of it Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Texas Posts: 160	Thanks for the info. Between our dsl and long distance (lots of long distance!) our bill can get pretty high. __________________ Keep your words soft & sweet, just in case you have to eat them.

05-27-2004, 01:02 PM	#12
LadyCrow WhY sO SiRiUs? Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Ta uoy erehw Posts: 1,120	We got Vonage here @ work a while ago, & we use it to make personal calls. It's been working fine, but there was some weird snafu; I think it had something to do with the little box they sent us. We got a new one, & it's been working fairly well since then. What's weird is that occasionally, after one of us makes a call & hangs up, it'll ring immediately afterwards. Could be possessed for all I know. :: shrugs :: __________________ "If there is a bedrock principle of the First Amendment, it is that the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable." -- Justice William J. Brennan (1906-1997) U. S. Supreme Court Justice Source: Texas vs. Johnson, 1989 ************ Illegitimi non carborundum... ************ Whatever doesn't kill you simply makes you... stranger. - Heath Ledger

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03-06-2004, 02:39 AM	#2
Audreyvgs Blue's Clues Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: on Yur Last Nerve, huh? Posts: 5,412	That is so cool!!!

05-26-2004, 09:55 PM	#6
nycwriters Stuck in T.O. Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Floundering Posts: 4,134	Woo hoo! I just got my Ottawa virtual number added. They now do it in Canada. So I gave my friends and family a "virtual" number -- 613-Ottawa area code ... they call that local number and it rings here in NYC. All incoming minutes are free, it's not long distance for them to call, it's such a win-win situation. And in five months of use, my service has never gone down. Very pleased. Yay!

05-26-2004, 10:17 PM	#7
masterofNone ________ Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 5,131	based on your recommendation i signd up last month. works like a charm, cut my phone bill virtually in half, and i can call the girl in kansas city and gab for three hours at a stretch for free. very good advice. thanks. oh, and my son & his fiancee just signed up and i got a month of free service.

05-26-2004, 11:20 PM	#8
nycwriters Stuck in T.O. Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Floundering Posts: 4,134	Glad it's working out for you! It is brilliant -- isn't it?

05-26-2004, 11:39 PM	#9
masterofNone ________ Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 5,131	brilliant!

05-27-2004, 11:46 AM	#11
red elite rabble Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Houston Posts: 4,147	I canceled my phone when we went with a cable modem. We use our cell phones for everything else. FVCK YOU SBC!! The only thing I have a problem with is when people ask for a phone number on a check. The first time that happened I told them I didn't have one. That caused such an ordeal I just make one up know. If something is wrong with the check, the bank will contact me.

09-09-2004, 10:34 PM	#14
rapscalious rob Posts: n/a	This technology- using your computer to make phone calls over the IP network- has been around for a while. It is now called VoIP, for Voice over IP. There are a number of different companies offering VoIP service, Vonage being one of the big ones. Basically, they allow you to call someone over an IP network; that IP network then streams the data to a computer in the area of the recipient of your phone call- thus the appearence of a local call on their end- and has that computer call that person on their normal or computer phone. An added benefit of such companies as Vonage is that if you call someone else using the same technology as you, the phone calls are free- you can make unlimited domestic long-distance calls! There are a number of software applications that allow you to do this as well, and some of them provide high-grade encryption to make your computer act like a secure phone. Software prices range from arond $30 to free. The catch is that the person on the other end has to have the same software, so issues such as operating system compatibility become important. Also, these applications cannot call someone on a regular phone line- the call has to be made through the recipient’s computer. If you live in California, Nevada, Arizona, or Texas, there is a calling card, distributed in 99¢ only stores, that allows you to talk for a penny a minute to anywhere in the US and for very low rates to a number of international locations. This calling card also uses an IP network, routing your phone call through the IP network and having a computer at the other end call your recipient. One catch to the 99¢ store Nationwide Calling Card is that you can only talk in 30 minute increments. Then the network hangs up on you, and you have to redial the number. Since this technology involves IP networks, your phone call is forwarded through many different computers and all the numbers you call, how long you spoke, and other things are recorded in a database.

09-09-2004, 10:39 PM	#15
rapscalious rob Posts: n/a	[php]Here is the website of the company that makes the 99¢ store nationwide calling cards. They offer some interesting phone services.