Review: Voice over IP, Vonage
To cut communications cost, many customers are switching from regular phone services
to VOIP. While a high speed internet connection is a requirement
for a VOIP line it does not, by itself guarantee a reliable voice quality over the Internet.
Before making the switch, test your Internet connection to verify that it is
compatible with a VOIP service.
Will your internet connection support Voice Over IP (VOIP)?
So, will you get a good Voice over IP service? You can perform several tests
on your computer to find out if your internet connection may work well with VOIP:
- Confirm that you have a fast internet connection with 256+ Kbits/sec upload and download speeds.
- Verify that you have a nearly lossless line. (Running either ping -n 500 google.com
or ping -n 500 vonage.com from command prompt,
should result in less than 1% packet loss)
- Confirm low latency:
Running tracert google.com should not produce response times larger than 150ms.
- Verify potential VOIP speeds at testyourvoip.com.
Good lines should get 4+ to any neighboring location.
Vonage review
My first encounter with Vonage happened in 2004 when a colleague of mine started calling the office on a crystal clear line with a
noticeably better sound
quality than on a regular phone.
Two years later, I have decided to sign-up for Vonage. Online sign-up process
was smooth, but the following experience was not as pleasant:
- Poor customer service: An average wait of 15 minutes to talk to
a customer support specialist.
- Unfair marketing: Vonage does not publish any information as far
as what latency and packet loss rates are compatible with it's service. My
Internet service was incompatible with Vonage.
- Make it difficult to disconnect: Vonage allows almost
instantaneous 24/7 sign-ups over the Internet and by phone. However,
disconnects are done only by phone during regular business hours Monday
through Friday (wait time: 15 min)
- Make it difficult to disconnect: You are charged a cancellation
fee if you disconnect within first 3 months.