What can I do with Vonage? No normal phone line?

Posts: 1 · New Forum Member Joined: Aug 04, 2005 Posts: 1

With dsl you still have to have a phoneline so your still paying like 34 dollars a month where I am from (altanta). Am I reading that I can just switch to cable instead of DSL and delete my telephone line completely?

Posts: 15 · Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2005 8:15 am Post subject:

If you have DSL and your carrier doesn't offer 'naked' DSL then you're stuck with phone service plus the DSL service. I'm on cable and don't have SBC service at all. There are risks that you take with not having local telco service. Telco service always seems to be there during storms, power outages, etc where Vonage may not be there all of the time during the same circumstances. I am willing to take the risk and have done away with telco service and am relying on Vonage only for 'land line' service.

Posts: 42 · Full Forum Member Joined: Apr 20, 2005 Posts: 42

With most teleco comapnies offering DSL, you may have a one year contract.

Posts: 14 · Vonage Forum Associate Joined: Jul 30, 2005 Posts: 14

I can get a pay per use line from SBC for $7.52 or so, plus my DSL for $29.99.

I don't have cable, so to get a cable modem would be $59.99 and be slower than my DSL.

That would be the cheapest way for me to completely use Vonage for Voice, but I still want my old SBC number, so I am just going to go to a package that is around $50 for my voice and DSL, and then another $15 for Vonage.

Posts: 21 · Vonage Forum Associate Joined: Aug 07, 2004 Posts: 21

cable modems are faster. they say cable modems will have a speed of 30mb per seccond next year

Posts: 1715 · Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2005 12:08 pm Post subject:

Theoretical speed limits and actual speeds delivered are two totally different things. Cable has the theoretical speed advantage, but it seems like the providers don't know how to manage their bandwidth well. Most of the issues you see with Vonage & ISP problems are cable users. Which is totally sad... Vonage can work on dial-up if you know what you're doing.

Posts: 605 · Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2005 12:25 pm Post subject:

Actually Vonage service was available during last years hurricanes here in Florida I hear where the local teleco was not working.

Posts: 1715 · Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2005 12:55 pm Post subject:

I have a beach-front condo which got nailed (direct hit) by hurricane Charley. Phone was the only thing still working. (Thank God for generators) At my place in Tampa, power & phone stayed, cable was out for a week after Frances and Jeanne.

Posts: 400 · Vonage Forum Evangelist Joined: May 05, 2005 Posts: 400

You always have you handy dandy cell as a backup unless the cell towers fall Smile

Posts: 1715 · Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2005 11:48 am Post subject:

I wish I remember where I put the pictures, but the cells were some of the first casualties. To give you an idea, the tall street lights at the interstate interchanges along I-75 were all bent over at about the 40' mark. Besides that the cell co's still have to interface to the PSTN, which was in shambles at this point as well. Working phones were few & far between, but people shared theirs if it worked. Long-distance trunks were very difficult to come by.

Found a pic...not mine, but it'll give you an idea. For scale, that light post is bent at about the 40 foot mark.