Any VoIP Users? Thoughts...?

[mbkerk]

Just curious if any of you computer geeks have VoIP and what you think of the service.

I have had Vonage for about 3 months now, and after a shaky start, it seems to be everything they say it is.

I would be interested in hearing about your setups!

[ducati996]

I have it for 3 numbers(all ported from Verizon) and all told I'm saving a ton of money versus standard analog lines from Verizon. Even better is the referral part which credits you 1 month billing.....I lost count on how many referrals I have but it will be almost two years (and growing) before I actually have to pay for the service..

The referral works through your Vonage account, just make sure it orignates through your account via the referral options. An email is generated and sent to the said person of referral. They can sign up via the link for the service, that way you and your referral get the credit very quickly....

Ducati

[CatDaddy]

Cox cable has just started offering VoIP in our area. I've just begun to delve into the monthly pricing comparisons. They seem to offer a good bundle, but I've got to calculate our avg. phone bill for comparison purposes.

Also, they can't seem to tell me whether we can continue to be 'unlisted' (or how much extra it will cost).

As I learn more, I'll contribute more.

-=A=-

[Jeff]

In these parts, VOIP is known as Vicki over in Podunk, as none of the carriers have even come close to this market. And probably won't for a while, just got 5 HD channels late last year (after having an HD TV for 2 years). I will be very interested to read the reviews and actually try it for my self, as I have heard the QoS is really bad for residential use. We have a Cisco VOiP system in the hospital here w/ very good QoS and it is outstanding as far as voice quality. And the features are just a hoot to play with. Unified messaging rocks, if you travel, it is nice to get your voice mails emailed to you or your emails read to you.

Home cable/VOiP users; Does Charter, Adelphia, Cox, Comcast, any of those offer unified messaging if you have their phone & DSL/Cable internet package?

[mbkerk]

.....I lost count on how many referrals I have but it will be almost two years (and growing) before I actually have to pay for the service..

Ducati

I don't know enough people with the technical knowledge to plug in the phone adapter! That coupled with the fact that I had some pretty serious "issues" with Vonage when I first started service with them makes me a little leary of recommending them just yet.

My home wiring is set up ideally for the transition to VoIP, but not everyones is. I guess I could set friends systems up for them, but then they would call me every time there is a hiccup of some kind! I don't have time for it!

I sure would like some of those free months though... Now I think there is 2 free months for one referral!

Here are some pictures of my "network hub" in the house, showing the cable modem and the Vonage RT31P2 (stacked) and my original BEFW11S4 wireless router (hooked up in that order.) I ran cat5e all through the 75 year old house 2 years ago when I did a major remodel. Sure makes projects with the ethernet / phone system easier!

http://www.98dodge.com/images/network.jpg

Each individual outlet in the house has a "home run" to the patch panel. There it is determined if that outlet will be ethernet or phone.

duc... just out of curiosity, how long did it take for your Vonage phones caller ID to reset for DST a couple of weeks ago? Mine were an hour off until I e-mailed them and asked them to check into it. I got a reply 5 hours later and told me it had been corrected. I checked and it was OK! This was a hot topic on the Vonage forum for a while!

Angel... When I transfered my POTS number to Vonage the transfer form had a option to check if I wanted my number to continue to be listed in the local directory. I chose no! I had to PAY! for unlisted service when I had Qwest!:mad:

Thanks for all the replys!

[ducati996]

Hi Jeff,

The QoS is excellent at least with Vonage and other providers...If you have a high speed broadband connection, then you have no limits on who you use. This stuff has been in place for sometime already, with very positive reviews. If it wasnt up to speed, would you think Verizon and the other baby bells would be in such a uproar over it? They are losing revenue, and desperately want the FCC and the states to tax and regulate it - :banghead3

Maybe a subject of a different thread - I'm against the telecom mega mergers
and the FCC and courts reversal of the LATA rates that the Baby Bells offer at whoselsale. The coined phrase "last mile" and who owns them, leases them, and what the regulated rates are......long story short it is destroying
an industry ( AT&T, MCI, Sprint, etc) and handing everything over to the Regional Bells. Businesses and consumers looses when there are no price controls...

Ducati

[ducati996]

mbkerk,

Didnt even notice the DST and even if it was an issue at all. I've had more Issues with Linksys routers and their Indian support, then I ever heard regarding Vonage. Linksys has a habit of shipping units out with faulty firmware, and not being the most updated at that. Love speaking with the Indian guru overseas when you need specifics - kidding
I think the service from Vonage is solid as well as their service.

I agree some folks cant handle anything technical including a P.C....thankfully
I'm not opening pandoras box with them, plenty of smart folks out there who get it..

Ducati

[CatDaddy]

...Each individual outlet in the house has a "home run" to the patch panel. There it is determined if that outlet will be ethernet or phone.

...

Angel... When I transfered my POTS number to Vonage the transfer form had a option to check if I wanted my number to continue to be listed in the local directory. I chose no! I had to PAY! for unlisted service when I had Qwest!...
Do the phones in the house require an RJ-45 jack or the standard RJ-11? We'll be building a new house next year, and I had planned to pull ethernet, cable and phone as a single 'bundle' into each room from a patch panel in the house's utility room.

We also have to pay every month for the 'privilege' of them not sharing our phone #. It's good to know that option exists with VoIP. When I called the local Cox office, they didn't know!

[Toba]

I don't think the technology and the backbone is really ready for it yet... let alone the VOIP companies. For those with cable TV, cable modem and such. Have you ever had your internet out and not the TV... well, your phone won't work LOL.

I talked to a company the other day a few times. Each time I called him the phone was garbled like he was on a bad cell or in a bad area. He told me later that they were doing some large server backups and the network was overloaded.

Have you ever got on the web and it's slow because all your neighbors were on the web at the same time.

I'm sure there are thousands of people who have it, have no problems and love it... I'll wait. Just my opinion.

[mbkerk]

Do the phones in the house require an RJ-45 jack or the standard RJ-11? We'll be building a new house next year, and I had planned to pull ethernet, cable and phone as a single 'bundle' into each room from a patch panel in the house's utility room.

We also have to pay every month for the 'privilege' of them not sharing our phone #. It's good to know that option exists with VoIP. When I called the local Cox office, they didn't know!

You are on the right track! RJ-11 plugs will plug into an a RJ-45 jack, they just do not fill the entire width. (only use center 4 contacts) These are the Bluewhite / Blue wires respectively for line 1.

All of the jacks in my house are now RJ-45's, whether I use them for phone or ethernet, and are completely interchangeable via the patch panel!

You would be crazy not to do what your talking about in your new construction. Put in a ton of jacks, even where you think you would never need one! I have gone back and added 2 since I thought I was finished. Last weekend I pulled cat5e out to my detached garage (through a conduit I have buried.) I had a phone out there but the old wire failed, and you never know...! Someday I may want a computer out there! :Pcwiz:

I'll be happy to answer any questions you have about my setup, or your plans!

[CatDaddy]

Mark,

How much more $$ was Cat5e cable versus standard 2-pair phone wire?

I plan on putting 2 'gang boxes' in each bedroom (one on each useable wall - defined as where you might reasonably expect to put a TV or computer) and then only connecting the active lines at the patch panel. I'm also planning to run my cable bundle in conduit (stubbing it in the attic) in case I need to pull new lines, or upgrade to a "new" standard, in the future.

Do you have power run in the same conduit, or do you have them run separately? My plan is to put the gang box on one side of a stud & the power on the other.

Plans call for a power circuit dedicated to my equipment in the utility room (maybe with a UPS). I've also specified a single RJ-45/power outlet over the top of a kitchen cabinet, in order to install a wireless AP in a central location. Laptop connectivity in the great room & out on the patio. Woot! And yeah, I'd planned for a phone & ethernet outlet out in the garage too. It'll be a good place for the old P-III (might end up as the house file server though) or my 1GHz Athlon-Thunderbird box.

-=A=-

[ducati996]

[QUOTE=Toba]I don't think the technology and the backbone is really ready for it yet... let alone the VOIP companies. For those with cable TV, cable modem and such. Have you ever had your internet out and not the TV... well, your phone won't work LOL.
{QUOTE]

Respectfully of course, but the technology has been out for sometime and there is plenty of bandwidth available. I sold my first IP solution to a International corp back in 2000-2001. It was a Cisco IP solution and the customer also purchased their Internet (Ds3's everywhere) from me. Big ticket items...
The price has come down dramtically, and the performance has increased the same. You are playing into the fear mungering the Baby Bells want you to believe. If it was such a waste, they wouldnt be scrambling to offer their own VoIP solution. As for the frequency of losing my cable, my land line phone, and my TV I will answer it this way. Everything is run via aerial, so if the lighting goes out from the same pole most likely the cable and land line phone as well. As for my TV I only use satellite, and that goes out less often then people think. If I had to say which is more reliable I would say my cable is, since I dont remember the last time it was out (service wise). I no longer have a land line phone, and have UPS battery back up for an hours worth along with a generator, I can say I havent lost my phone yet, If I did I have cellular...

Ducati

[mbkerk]

Mark,

How much more $$ was Cat5e cable versus standard 2-pair phone wire?

***************

Do you have power run in the same conduit, or do you have them run separately? My plan is to put the gang box on one side of a stud & the power on the other.

****************************

Plans call for a power circuit dedicated to my equipment in the utility room (maybe with a UPS). I've also specified a single RJ-45/power outlet over the top of a kitchen cabinet, in order to install a wireless AP in a central location.
-=A=-

I think I paid $65 for a 1000 ft roll of cat5e. I still have about 300' left on that roll. I bought it from my brother who is in the buisness so I MAY have gotten a little better deal on it. Look on eBay... it's not too bad really.

The power to the garage is in a separate trench. I do have RG6 ran in the conduit though... for my satellite TV!

Good idea on the central access point. My wireless router is in the basement, and sometimes it can be touchy getting a signal on the top floors. I could easily move my wireless router to the main floor with my setup.

[Toba]

Duc,
I think you are right on, and I agree with your points. I just think that while it appears we are ready... in some cases we are not. For instance, HD over cable and cable internet. I had HD over cable a few years before my friend, I had internet cable for several years before my friend. I lived in a new neighborhood near a new major throughway that had fiber installed when the parkway was installed. He lives in a older more populated area with older equipment, cables, etc. It takes time to get those systems up to par to handle it. I'm sure the cable company might even push it out before it is totally ready too.

My sister-in-laws don't have a home phones, they use their cell phones because it is cheaper. Wacky, but many are going that route.

My boss flipped to VOIP and she loves it, no problems yet that I've heard of.

I just look at some of my work buddies and the complaints they have about their internet provider. They complain that they have to many people on their trunk, the connetion speeds suck or they go out, etc. Again, I think it has a lot to do with where you live, your provider, etc. I've almost never had problems.

I guess look at your provider and see the service they are giving you today. If you are having problems with connections, I'd think twice about doing VOIP. The other thing is, most people now a days have a cell phone, if the VOIP is out, you always have the cell phone.

[ducati996]

Catdaddy,

You can find Leviton products (Cat5e jacks, plates etc) at Lowes and Home Depot along with Cat5e cable, very inexpensive to boot!!
You can go to the leviton website and look for their on-line instructions on how to terminate the jacks, split the pairs, etc....they are in swish files
and are very useful

Ducati

[CatDaddy]

Thanks for the tip Duc!

Do you know a good source for a mini-rack & enclosure for my patch panels? It needs to be more "attractive" than a standard installation. My wife would NOT be happy with an industrial looking deal in HER (LOL!) new house. I guess I could get the carpenter to build some sort of 'butterfly'-style cabinet to house it if need be.

Angel

[MowHoward2210]

.....Do you know a good source for a mini-rack & enclosure for my patch panels? It needs to be more "attractive" than a standard installation. My wife would NOT be happy with an industrial looking deal in HER (LOL!) new house. I guess I could get the carpenter to build some sort of 'butterfly'-style cabinet to house it if need be.

Angel

Angel, I am also going to be building a new dwelling soon, and need to start thinking about how I'm going to do the networking.

If your wiring hub is in an inconspicuous area such as a utility or laundry room, then just a simple cabinet with doors should suffice. I'll probably buy some Oak veneered plywood, build a box with a door, and stain it. As far as the wire racks/management, Panduit makes some pretty slick stuff. They also make quality connectors. You should be able to find Panduit stuff at an electrical supply company.

I concur with mbkerk in that you should "home run" each line to your desired location and terminate everything with RJ45's.

Have any of you looked into cat6e? I'm not really familiar with it and I'm sure it's overkill for 10/100. But what about being prepared for the future?