Phone service through your internet provider- worth it?

Question

My ISP (Patriot media, soon to be Comcast) is offering local + long distance service for $29/month. I am assuming this means your calls come & go over cable as opposed to your telephone lines. How well does it work and how does the service compare to standard telephone service? Right now we have Embarq for local & LD and pay over $70 a month.

Answer 1

The Broadband phone service work usually a little better then the VoIP...and you have real customer service with it!! They also port your phone number immediately...

Answer 2

I have Comcast ($40/m), I switched from AT&T ($80-$100/m) which I have had since forever! Cable phone works just like conventional home phone service (AT&T-Verizon, etc.)-same jacks, number and equipment, no big difference. The only difference is that with cable phone service there is the battery back up involved. This only continues service for 8hrs. if the "power" goes out but if your "cable" goes out you loose everything....tv, internet & phone. The 8hrs. is not a full 8 either, it's just like a cell phone, the more you use it during the outage the faster the battery will wear down...so if your a talker you may just cut your 8 down to 2.

But how often will you run into an outage problem without calling to get someone out to fix it a.s.a.p?

How often have you had a power/cable outage in your area?

I've heard there are some problems with connection...ie: you can hear a person and they can't hear you or vice versa. Also, when you hang up from a call your phone may take 2-5sec. before you can make the next call while it disconnects and resets, meanwhile any incoming calls go directly to voicemail. I've had the service close to a year and haven't had those problems myself.

Clarity = A

Quality = A

all lines work = A (however it only supports 2 #'s max.)

Voip is cheaper ($20-$30) for a plan but can't be used alone unlike cable. Voip will not work if you don't have a broadband connection ($40-$50), so long run it's actually more expensive. It totally relies on your internet, so if your internet goes down or is slow, you loose phone...and guess what that's not the voip provider problem! Also, if your phone isn't with your internet provider, it's not their problem either...they will only fix the internet. So mean time you are out of gas. One advantage, they do have is mobile technology (you can take their modem and plug it in anywhere and get service) but that isn't an advantage unless your a traveling salesman and your are staying somewhere that has broadband...Now a days most people just carry a cell phone? LOL

Bottomline, the only advantage of going with either is to get a cheaper rate by having unlimited local/long distance calling, most voip providers include international as well.

So how often do you make long distance and international calls?

Is it worth the savings?

Otherwise consider this a cheap back up phone to your cellular...although I have no grips with my Comcast service, neither are providing the most reliable service in my opinion but it beats shelling out an unneccessary $40-$60 a month to have reliable service! I'll save myself the extra $450-$700 a year!!!

Answer 3

To tell you the honest truth it is better to get your phone service through your internet provider. Even though it will cost more but you will get better service. When you get phone service your calls will go over your cable line (Voice over internet cable lines)

I had Cablevision Optimum Service and I had no problems. I now have Fios because I wanted faster internet service.

Dont ever get Vonage or other  (VOIP) Services, it maybe cheaper but you will get more hassles.