Today's outage - a case for regulation

Posts: 20 · Vonage Forum Associate Joined: Nov 18, 2004 Posts: 20

I just had a friend called me on my cell and say the phone keeps saying my line is disconnected.. See I set it so that all my calls get forwarded to my cell is there is a problem but the cell number I chaged about a couple weeks ago so it's saying my phone is disconnected.. Anyway.. I'm able to call out with Vonage but I cant get calls to come in.. is that the problem right now?

Posts: 41 · Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2005 3:40 pm Post subject:

There are many other Voip providers that you can look at if you are unhappy with Vonage, or you could just stay with POTS. I for one can handle these down times (this is why I still have a cell phone). They do not happen very often through the course of a year. These outages yesterday and today are the first in a very long time. I have been with Vonage 1.5 years now and the service has been great most of the time.

Posts: 68 · Full Forum Member Joined: Jan 30, 2005 Posts: 68

"That means Vonage owes me 5 cents for the time I've lost"

Really? Are you aware Vonage sells business service as well? A business could be out hundreds of dollars by now.

Posts: 206 · Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2005 5:49 pm Post subject:

Trek234 wrote:

"That means Vonage owes me 5 cents for the time I've lost"

Really? Are you aware Vonage sells business service as well? A business could be out hundreds of dollars by now.

Yeah "really". You must have missed the opening line where I said:

Quote:

In my case, I'll just forget about it. Here's why:

Additionally, if Vonage is responsible for lost revenue, they'll be the first carrier I've ever seen that was.

Posts: 64 · Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2005 6:13 pm Post subject:

Trek234 wrote:

"That means Vonage owes me 5 cents for the time I've lost"

Really? Are you aware Vonage sells business service as well? A business could be out hundreds of dollars by now.

A business could already BE saving hundreds of dollars by using Vonage for outgoing calls. If the business decides that outages outweigh the savings, by all means switch! It is a matter of doing business, cost vs. benefit.

The best service is the winner. So far for me, it has been Vonage.

Posts: 10 · Vonage Forum Associate Joined: Mar 04, 2005 Posts: 10

I have to agree with trek234. My wife and I own a restaurant which focuses on call-in and delivery. While we did have some calls get forwarded through to a cell phone, at times the phone would ring for a second, and generally just act strange and unpredictable. I kept resetting it, unplugging the ethernet cable... had no idea what was going on and that's what brought me to the forum....

While we didn't lose hundreds of dollars, I think we did lose several orders and some customers were irritated at not being able to get through.

I get put in the position of defending Vonage... it is getting harder. It's fine for our apartment, but I don't know with regard to business. Especially since we can't get into directory assistance....

Posts: 482 · Last edited by ToddlerTN on Fri Mar 04, 2005 6:39 pm; edited 2 times in total

scerruti wrote:

I think you are going to get flamed big time. Wink

The motivating factor for many people who signed up was reduced cost resulting from lack of regulation. If you want always on phone service go back to POTS. Most people today have cell phones for backup and don't need their home phone to be 100% reliable.

My motivating factor was reduced cost, regardless of where the savings come from. But only part of the savings come from fewer taxes on Voip. Part of the savings come from unlimited long-distance. Part of the savings come from not having to pay BellSouth extra fees for touch-tone dialing, call waiting, caller ID, caller ID deluxe, call forwarding, three-way calling, voicemail, etc.

Being unregulated isn't the magic elixer for affordability. Yes, that's part of why Vonage is less expensive than POTS, but truthfully only a very small part. The big savings for Voip providers is in not having to run cables to every home or business in the country. The infrastructure costs in POTS are immense. Not to mention every time somebody digs up a line, three trucks and six union guys have to show up on the scene.

Don't forget that cable companies are regulated, too. Yet they are starting to provide Voip services for much less than the telcos. How can this be possible if regulation is the reason your POTS line was so expensive?

I'm really looking forward to Comcast's Voip rollout. Their solution transmits Voip data on a different data channel, so it has dedicated bandwidth and never even passes through your cable modem, and your network connectivity is never affected by Voip, and vice-versa. (I'll say this before some goober tries to say that's not possible...does digital cable or OnDemand programming pass through your cable modem?) Which is really nice, because they can't blame issues on your ISP. And because the cable companies are regulated carriers, they also provide true E911 services exactly like POTS (because the telcos can't prevent them from accessing the system).

Not only is it a technically-superior and more robust solution, but Comcast's pricing strategy is $40 for existing customers of either cable TV or internet service, or $55 for VoIP-only service. That's right, you can get Voip without broadband, because their solution is a standalone device that doesn't need a cable modem. Of course, bundling services together lowers the cost, which is part of what they're counting on to attract and retain customers. But even if all you wanted was telephone service, $55 is a lot cheaper than the $80 BellSouth was getting from me every month...and on top of that, you're getting more for your money with free long-distance, 24 hours a day.

So $25 for Vonage, or $40 for Comcast...unless Vonage gets a whole lot better, I'll be thrilled to spend an extra $15 for that solution if it (a) doesn't affect my network routing or connectivity in any way, (b) gives me real E911 service, (c) has the reliability that I've come to expect from Comcast, and (d) doesn't have anything to do with Vonage.

So come on, Comcast, bring it on. And in the meantime, Vonage, get your act together.

Posts: 39 · Vonage Forum Junior Joined: Feb 09, 2005 Posts: 39

joecitizen wrote:

I have to agree with trek234. My wife and I own a restaurant which focuses on call-in and delivery. While we did have some calls get forwarded through to a cell phone, at times the phone would ring for a second, and generally just act strange and unpredictable. I kept resetting it, unplugging the ethernet cable... had no idea what was going on and that's what brought me to the forum....

While we didn't lose hundreds of dollars, I think we did lose several orders and some customers were irritated at not being able to get through.

I get put in the position of defending Vonage... it is getting harder. It's fine for our apartment, but I don't know with regard to business. Especially since we can't get into directory assistance....

I think it's great that you own a business, and you're trying to save money. However, if a new car came out that ran on a different type of a gas (designed to save $$$ ), would you risk your business, and use that new car to deliver your food? I would hope not.

Relying on a new technology as your only option is not a smart business move.

Posts: 10 · Vonage Forum Associate Joined: Mar 04, 2005 Posts: 10

Yeah Neutral, I see your point. The thing is, I was so happy with Vonage in my residence, and since our cafe is a wi-fi hotspot with a fiber-to-the-curb connection - it just seemed like a good fit. And for the most part, it has been.

I mean, without someone literate in networking to tweak it around... I wouldn't recommend it for business. A small business owner might not know what a "firmware update" is, or why they should even need one since they are paying for what is touted as a reliable service.

I'm going to stick it out... but yeah, I can be dumb - and I was really excited to stick it to verizon. oh, well.

Posts: 23 · Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2005 6:47 pm Post subject:

I may be wrong but, if the fed starts "regulating" Voip, what is the point to having it?

Regulation will mean the same price as any verizon, att or local carrier that has spent $$$'s on proprietary closed networks. Right? I would not have switched to something of a lesser quality for the same price, who would?

I don't know about anyone else but the reason I switched was because I was sick of the 80-90 dollar phone bills I was receiving for calling my parents and a couple friends that happen to be long distance for me.