Set up with Qwest stand alone DSL - Actiontec Modem

Posts: 4 · New Forum Member Joined: Sep 11, 2008 Posts: 4

I'm considering dropping my Qwest landline and having stand alone DSL through Qwest and using Vonage Voip for my phone service and adding the $9.99/mo fax number with Vonage as well.

I'm uncertain if I'll need a new wireless router or not, and I don't know which phone adapter is best. Currently I have the "Qwest Actiontec DSL modem with wireless gateway". My understanding is the Vonage phone adapter will connect to my current modem/router. Does anyone have experience with this specific modem/router?

And also I'm unsure if I should purchase the Vonage phone adapter, or are other phone adapters better?

Thank you.

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

I don't have experience with that particular router, but generally speaking Vonage doesn't care which router you have. What is important is that you be able to set QoS so that Vonage gets priority whenever it needs it to avoid choppy calls.

You can buy an adapter directly from Vonage or you can get one at retail. However, it absolutely must be designated as an adapter for Vonage use. If it doesn't say that on the box, don't buy it. Avoid used units from Ebay (or anywhere else)- Vonage may or may not be willing to re-activate them.

Posts: 4 · New Forum Member Joined: Sep 11, 2008 Posts: 4

Thank you, that information is helpful!

Posts: 1179 · Member of the Week Joined: Feb 28, 2005 Posts: 1179

clewis wrote:

adding the $9.99/mo fax number with Vonage as well.

why are you in need of this? Do you receive and send a lot of faxes? I usually just use my voice line to send and use efax to receive faxes.

clewis wrote:

I'm uncertain if I'll need a new wireless router or not, and I don't know which phone adapter is best. Currently I have the "Qwest Actiontec DSL modem with wireless gateway". My understanding is the Vonage phone adapter will connect to my current modem/router. Does anyone have experience with this specific modem/router?
Thank you.

you do not need a new wireless router but as Steve mentioned, you want to make sure that it has QoS or else your phone call quality may be low or even worse, unusable if you use a lot of bandwidth with your computers.

you can do a search on this forum for your modem.

Posts: 4 · New Forum Member Joined: Sep 11, 2008 Posts: 4

Thanks Mundy5, No I don't send and receive a lot of faxes, but I work from home and want to have the ability to both send & receive them. I could use my voice line for sending, I just don't want to have to be available to receive the faxes when they come in. Currently I just have one landline with a distinctive ring feature, the distinctive ring goes to my fax line. I looked into efax briefly, if I understand it correctly, it's $16.95/mo for a number which allows you to receive faxes. I thought that Vonage's fax line at $9.95/mo is a better deal. Or did I misunderstand efax?

Posts: 1179 · Member of the Week Joined: Feb 28, 2005 Posts: 1179

efax is free but it is not a local #. most of my faxes are from out of town so this is not an issue. if you have a local business, then you are correct, it would be a cheaper option to get the fax #.

Posts: 4 · New Forum Member Joined: Sep 11, 2008 Posts: 4

Oh, I didn't realize they had a free service, I don't care if it's not a local number. I'll check them out. Thanks again, that's a savings that could add up!

Posts: 1179 · Member of the Week Joined: Feb 28, 2005 Posts: 1179

yes, they have different levels of service, some paid, only one free. The free service has 20 free incoming faxes a month. For me, I never even exceed that amount in most yrs. have had the free service now for about 5 yrs.

hope this helps. As a last resort, you can also use your Vonage line as an incoming fax using a computer. that's what I do.

Posts: 227 · Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 8:09 pm Post subject:

Packetel (www.packetel.com) offers inbound fax with a local number (in most area codes) for $3.95/month. Definitely less expensive than a second line from Vonage.

If you choose a business voice line from Vonage (at $49.95/month) you get a fax line at no additional charge. This is like a second Vonage voice line, but with a much reduced feature set, and a limit on the number of 'free' minutes per month.