Kroeran
Full time employment: Posting here.
is it possible to find a VOIP that provides a regular phone number and uses regular phones, that a very low tech DW will accept?
magicjack is $19.95/yr (thats right per year) for free long distance to anywhere in US or Canada and it plugs into a USB port on your computer and then the other side plugs into a standard phone. i have also pluged it into a prewired phone jack and then pluged a phone into another jack. another interesting thing about magicjack is if you travel to any other country in the world and you have an internet connection and your computer you can place free calls to anywhere in the US & Canada and you have with you a US number so people here can call you like you were still here.
We've chosen NOT to replace our land line with VOIP, for safety reasons. To wit: if the power is off, or our internet service provider is down, we can't make a call.
We went with Vonage. ... We were able to keep our existing number with Vonage. But had to replace any old phones (900 baud).
Replacing phone with VOIP
is it possible to find a VOIP that provides a regular phone number and uses regular phones, that a very low tech DW will accept?
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Why would you need to replace your old phones when going to vonage?
Same here. Additionally, if you have a security system, the security firm must have a landline to hook into, unless you set up a wireless line for them that you know will be reliable.
I currently have AT&T phone and DSL... can I just cancel the phone and keep the DSL with AT&T.. moving the phone line to a VOIP provider?
What speed do you need for the phone? I have the SLOW speed DSL, but it works just fine with SKYPE with video calls... I can not see how voice alone would need any more speed...
Which option is best for calling overseas? ie, voice quality, costs etc... My wife wants to call her mother and friends back home... some do not have SKYPE and she also wants to be able to just 'call' at any time....
Becaue I have a Magicjack, I only carry a tracfone prepaid as my mobile (no, monthly fees!).
I found this article pretty handy to assess some of the VOIP services. The table near the bottom charts international calls.
A Review Of Ooma Internet Telephone: Free Phone Service For Life | Spot Cool Stuff: Tech
For us international calls are a non issue. Monthly fee is everything. But I can't leave the computer ON forever so ooma was the way to go (at the lake).
Same here. Additionally, if you have a security system, the security firm must have a landline to hook into, unless you set up a wireless line for them that you know will be reliable.
@Kroeran: Porbably obvious but... With any VOIP plan, don't forget that if electricity or internet are down, you'll be out of luck. I guess an emergency cell phone or "cheap" land line would work for such cases - but I suggest having some plan B for such cases.