From Comcast VOIP to Vonage

Posts: 2 · New Forum Member Joined: Jul 26, 2008 Posts: 2

Hey folks,

I currently have Comcast internet w/their Voip. As CC is the only IP in my area I "bundled" the phone serve to keep the internet service cost down. At the time the Voip fee was reasonable but now I am paying nearly $50 for it, so the combined services is nearly $100 a month.

I am interested in switching to Vonage but I'd like some detail about how it is set up. I don't quite get how Vonage is routed through CC. Does the customer pay an additional charge to CC because of this? Any positive input for a potential Vonage customer will be appreciated.

Funny...as I type this I can hear a Vongage commercial on the TV advertising $9.99 for 3 months. Hmmm...

BostonEd

Posts: 1327 · Vonage Forum **MVM** Joined: Nov 08, 2006 Posts: 1327

There is no extra fee paid to CC, you are just using their bandwidth for the phone calls.

You get an adapter from Vonage, connect it to your CC modem (like how you hook up a router) and then connect the phone to the Vonage adapter or if you use the in house wiring (you need to take 5 minutes to disconnect from outside box)

Posts: 48 · Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2008 10:37 am Post subject: Re: From Comcast VOIP to Vonage

BostonEd wrote:

I am interested in switching to Vonage but I'd like some detail about how it is set up.

roscopco explained it; that's the entire explanation!

I've been using Vonage on Comcast for almost three years and could not be happier. I recently upgraded to the new adapter (VDV21-VD) which is as solid as a rock as was my three-year-old adapter, but adds some great features (ex: display flashes when there is a voicemail message, adjust bandwidth for best sound, etc), also.

After your three month promotional period you might consider prepaying a year in advance which gets the cost down to about $20/mo. After you get through a Comcast promo period you pay almost the same as a regular landland but without any of the built-in Vonage features, a sad fact about 20 members of our community association came to realize after they'd signed up for a year.

If your Comcast Voip worked well, you will most likely realize the same result with Vonage... but at a lower cost and with more (useful) features.

Posts: 2 · New Forum Member Joined: Jul 26, 2008 Posts: 2

Does anyone out there have CC internet w/vonage? I'm currently dishing out $43 for internet however once I cancel the phone service to switch to Vonage, that rate will hike up to around $62 or so. How much I save will determine whether or not I switch.

Posts: 350 · Vonage Forum Evangelist Joined: Dec 04, 2005 Posts: 350

roscopco wrote:

you are just using their bandwidth for the phone calls.

I am going to have to go ahead and disagree with you there.

The OP (or anyone who subscribes to an ISP) isn't using the ISP's bandwidth. The sub is using the bandwidth they paid for. A lot of folks have been bamboozled by ISPs and their drive for usage-based pricing via caps into thinking that, if one uses more bandwidth than an arbitrary amount, they are stealing from the ISP somehow. I think it also comes from an unreasonable hope that if one uses less than that arbitrary amount they will get some type of discount or rebate, which isn't going to happen.

I do know what you were trying to say but just needed to drop this in.

Posts: 1327 · Vonage Forum **MVM** Joined: Nov 08, 2006 Posts: 1327

what I was saying is, you are using your ISP for an internet connection to use Voip. Sure they have caps, and it is mentioned when you sign up. There is no way in hell that if you are using Vonage that it alone will put you over the limit.

If I go over my combined 60 gigs per month I have to pay extra. If I don`t use the 60 gigs then I don`t get a discount. My ISP told me that I get UP TO 60 gigs. I download a lot and never go over my limit.

Posts: 48 · Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2008 3:31 pm Post subject:

FWIW: I use my Vonage line for work. I sometimes spend hours on the phone in one day and may do that several times a week. In addition, I download videos (Netflix and Vuze), MP3's and a torrent file now and then. I run a meter on the connection and have yet to approach 60 gigs.

If Comcast wrote me and said I'd used too much bandwidth in one month--whatever that number is--I'd ask them for the logs they kept for the six months I paid for ($317.70 for 16Mpbs) and did not use the connection at all while I was working overseas.

Fair is fair!

Having said that, I'm aware of some who try and drain the entire Internet via the pipe they have from the backbone to their bit bucket. I think I should not have to pay for their extreme use of what is a fixed and shared resource.

Posts: 4777 · Vonage Forum **MVM** Joined: Aug 30, 2005 Posts: 4777

BostonEd wrote:

Does anyone out there have CC internet w/vonage? I'm currently dishing out $43 for internet however once I cancel the phone service to switch to Vonage, that rate will hike up to around $62 or so. How much I save will determine whether or not I switch.

Do a forum search on Comcast and you'll find literally dozens of posts from people using Vonage with it. As far as your total savings goes, it's easy to determine what Vonage will cost. They have a calculator on the web site that will figure it for you. With taxes, fees, and so forth, I pay just over $20/month for the basic 500 minute plan. You say that your total now is "close" to $100/month. Even with the 500 minute plan, you're not going to more than $18. With the unlimited plan it will be less.