Upset about bills--What about Vonage?

[education]

Hi guys--

I hope you can offer some sage advice. I have a bundled package of services--cable, high speed internet and landline phones--with Grande. I thought bundled services would save me a bundle. Wrong!!!!!!! The costs are ridiculous. Someone mentioned Vonage, but I am electronically challenged & don't know anything about it. Can you guys offer some help starting with what is Vonage and how reliable and cost effective is it.

Many thanks.

Professor

I used Vonage for a while and was quite satisfied. The quality and reliability falls somewhere between conventional land-line and cell phones. Sometimes it is crystal clear; sometimes there would be a time delay, or it would be "clicky." I was on the 300 minutes a month plan which included domestic long distance and all the doodads (voice mail, caller ID, etc). This cost $15. $25 gives you unlimited as I recall.

The deal-breaker for me was that Verizon, my carrier, would not allow me to cancel the phone service, but retain the DSL. This has since changed, so it would be possible to get both broadband and 300 minutes of phone service for $30/month.

[maddythebeagle]

this topic has been mentioned a few times (look up also VOIP). I am waiting for my local phone cooperative to offer VOIP. I think the biggest drawback is reliability. My broadband connection has been down occasionally and the electricity goes out, you need a battery back up for your computer. If you have a cell phone, it probably isnt as bad.

[twincity]

I have VOIP phone service through my cable company. Reception and reliability have been as good as regular phone service. What I like best is that nation wide long distance is included in the monthly price. The phone modem contains a battery that is supposed to maintain service for a certain number of hours if the electricity goes out. In August we had a severe storm and had no electricity or cable for 48 hours so I no VOIP phone service until the electricity was restored. However I was able to use my cell phone during the power outage.