Vonage users; how much do you pay in fees and taxes?

[Kilroy003]

I'm thinking about replacing my Qwest land-line with Vonage but I'm only paying around $32.00 (including fees and taxes) right now and I use my cell phone for Long Distance calls.

Does the $24.99 plan really cost $25 bucks?

Replies appreciated. Thanks...

[Fescue4u]

1. $27.24

The 24.99 plan cost me $27.24

Unlimited calling, Unlimited long distance.

That also includes all the features like calling waiting caller id etc.

Vonage rocks.

[mtnester]

3. Have you done a test or seen in writing how your 911 call is handled

through Vonage?

They have been fined and banned from selling more services here in Ohio until they resolve that little issue.

Particulary bad if you are a business and your master billing address is elsewhere.

[Kilroy003]

6. It looks like it goes through a third party.

I have never had to call 911 before and don't see any real reason to do so in the future so I'm not that worried about it.

I think you can now sign up for a service that lists your home address through Vonage; it's not automatically listed.

[mtnester]

7. Believe me, it has been a serious issue here

wrong police, fire and ems agencies being contacted by the third party, major delays in responding.

It is something to consider, and no one ever intends to dial 911. I just wanted to make sure you were aware of the situation.

I believe also that Texas, Ohio and a few other states have filed a major lawsuit against Vonage, and this is part of that as well.

Not saying you should not have their service, just that you should be well aware of how the 911 issue is handled.

[Missy Vixen]

9. We have Vonage and have dialed 911

within the past month. There was a brief delay on the line while they routed us to the correct police department, I reported the problem, and the police were out in a jiffy. (Noise complaint.)

One MUST fill out the paperwork on Vonage's website to be routed to the community police department when one calls 911. They will send several e-mails reminding the customer if the customer does not do this, and the e-mails continue until the paperwork is filled out.

Julie

[kath]

11. Ummm, for a noise complaint you should have dialed the PD's NON-emergency

number, NOT 911.

[Missy Vixen]

22. We live in a rural area

population 5900. We are told to dial 911 for any call requesting police. All calls for our police department are routed through a dispatcher in another city; they decide how to deal with the call.

Julie

[mtnester]

12. One of the problems in the lawsuit is that

Vonage does not always do that.

Most home users will not have a problem with 3rd party 911 calls. But, if you have a business with several branches and IP locations, the problem is when you call 911, MOST times they have you on file as addressed to where the bill is sent. That could be a central office.

We have several businesses, including some doctors offices and urgent cares, who have been tranferred to the wrong 911 calling center even though they know there is a problem and tell the person to transfer them to "such and such police department".

[mtnester]

15. I add my voice to that...you called 911 for a noise complaint?

Shame on you! Call the seven digit number for that.

:spank:

[Missy Vixen]

23. Please read the explanation above

Our police department's seven digit number is not answered after 4:00 PM on weekdays and not at all on weekends...

Julie

[mtnester]

24. Okay

thanks


STILL :spank:

:)

[Kilroy003]

10. The 911 issue is on my "cons" list.

I figure I can just ask one of my neighbors to call the fire department or police if there is an emergency.

[Fescue4u]

18. It is a con

but the "workaround" is to keep the direct number to police and fire handy near the phone (i.e. the way it was done in the 70's)

[Fescue4u]

8. I havent done a test

But as I understand it it goes to the PSAP (public service access point), which is not necessarily the same 911 folks.

Thanks for the reminder, IM going to write down the actual police phone number and stick it to the phone.

btw, the voip providers are under a mandate to get this issue fixed, essentially by the end of summer. Im not sure how far along they are on this though (and it wouldnt suprise me if they get an extension)

[mtnester]

13. PSAP IS the public safety agency you need

in our county, there are three PSAP locations (911 emergency call receiving centers), and your call will go to one of them if you dial 911, depending on your address and who serves you as law enforcement, EMS, etc.

PSAP is a way for the 911 database to identify where your call goes to depending on who is doing the 911 dispatching for your area. The PSAP IS the 911 center for your address.

As an example, in our area, if you live on Gender Road, you may have a Canal Winchester mailing address, but through annexation, you are inside the City of Columbus corporation limits, and thus calling 911 would be transferred to the City of Columbus PD 911 center which is identified by a PSAP number for all emergency calls based on the exact same PSAP identifier attached to your phone number in the phone company's 911 database.

That is just a small part of how 911 works. Most IP companies have figured out how to deal with this so if you call 911, you do not get routed by a third party, but unfortunately, Vonage is not one of them.

[Not Me]

2. These is a fee of about $1.50 per PHONE NUMBER

that they charge for regulatory recovery or something similar.
But other than that, it's pretty much free of all the 'add on's' that you are used to in your landline service.

Of course, if you choose to take on additional 'virtual' numbers, there is a 4.99 fee (plus the ~$1.50) per additional number.

Virtual numbers are optional additional numbers in the area code of your choice to make it easy for people in another area to make a call to you as a local call.

Ditto: Vonage rocks.

[Qanisqineq]

4. Haven't received the first bill yet

But my husband and I use it to call each other overseas. He's in South Korea. The reception isn't that great (for overseas, anyway) compared to using calling cards but it is sooo much cheaper! $25 a month, can't beat that.

[mike_c]

5. me too-- $27.24....

It's been my only phone service for a year now, and it works great.

[Holly_Hobby]

14. I have cable voip phone

It's $23.75. The phone modem replaces the cable internet modem. I'm not 100% happy with it. I get dropped calls and break up.

[newyawker99]

20. Hi Holly_Hobby!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[caledesi]

16. Do you need a special phone or can you use your cordless?

TIA.

[Fescue4u]

17. Anyphone will do

I plug my cordless base station right into the vonage box

[Boredtodeath]

19. 2+ yr. Vonage user here

Yeah, the $25.00 is really just $25.00.

Vonage has been rock solid for us for all the time we have used it. We use our regular phones wired and wireless and 911 was not a problem when we used it for a medical emergency. The correct fire, police and ambulance were dispatched and there was no delay.

I would happily recommend Vonage to anyone who asked.

[OrlandoGator]

21. I love Vonage. I pay $14.99 a month for 500 minutes.

Incoming calls do not count against your minutes, 911 works fine once you register.

Only problem is that sometimes bandwidth issues make your voice echo. Annoying, but nothing worth dropping them for.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

25. I'm on the $14.99 plan, too, and with only an extra $9.99 for

a dedicated fax line. With taxes, it's maybe $28 or thereabout, and that includes all the goodies you usually get with a cell phone such as call forwarding, voice mail, etc.

Compare this to $50 a month from Qwest without the fax line. My fax machine supposedly switches between phone and fax automatically, except that it doesn't always, besides which almost all my faxes come in overnight from Japan. If I forgot to turn the phone off before going to bed, I'd be awakened at 2 or 3 AM.

Now I have a dedicated fax line, the machine's ringer is off at all times, and I sleep through the night.

For 911 calls, I intend to use my cell phone.

[OrlandoGator]

26. Compare to $38 a month I was paying for local only landline service.

Vonage really is a great deal. If you have broadband, take advantage of it!

Plus, you can take your Vonage box anywhere that has high-speed. If someone calls your phone number, a phone hooked up to your box (no matter where it is) will ring.