How To Choose Your VoIP Service
As you are probably aware, VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is a technology with which you can place telephone calls using a broadband internet connection instead of a traditional fixed-line phone service provider, or POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service).
There are a variety of services and devices which enable you to take advantage of the cost savings that this technology puts in your pocket . I will go over three of the highest profile : Vonage, magicJack, and Ooma Telo.
Vonage is the most established of the three. It makes available to you all the features of a traditional land line , and more.
Vonage’s most popular calling plan includes unlimited calls in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico; cheap international rates to 60 countries; and many handy benefits like voice mail, three-way calling, caller ID, existing number portability, the ability to take your number with you if you move, and lots of other features.
The one big down side with Vonage is the phone bill you receive every month . Their popular “Vonage World” calling plan costs $25.99 per month. That’s not so much compared to a land line phone, on the other hand , the main point of acquiring VoIP is the cost savings . From that perspective , $25.99 a month seems a little bit hard on the pocketbook . Vonage also offers business phone plans that are a little more expensive , but still seem like they could save the average office a considerable amount of money. In my opinion, Vonage is a good option for an office , but leaves something to be desired as a residential phone service provider.
While Vonage in many ways resembles a traditional telephone service, magicJack is a whole new kettle of fish . The Magic Jack itself is a telephone jack that you plug into a USB port on your computer. Then all you have to do is set it up by following the prompts that will pop up on your computer screen. A soon as it’s set up , you can plug your standard RJ-11 phone jack-equipped telephone into the magicJack and start dialing .
The most advantageous thing about the magicJack is its price . The initial investment in this product is all of $39.95, which includes the $20.00 purchase price and the first year’s service charge. After that, there is an annual service charge of $19.95. You heard right : $19.95 per year.
The other useful aspect of the magicJack is its portability . At 113 x 55.56 x 13.65 mm ( 4.45 x 2.19 x 0.54 inches), It’s compact enough to put in your pocket. It can be used for making unlimited calls in the United States (including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands) and Canada from anywhere that you can access a broadband internet connection–even if you’re abroad . Say for instance you find yourself in Italy. You’d still have to pay Magic Jack’s international rates to call anybody in Italy (currently $0.02 per minute to a fixed line phone, and $0.28 to a mobile), but you could call home for free.
One drawback is that it does not offer portability of your current land line phone number. In simple speak , you can’t transfer your home phone number to the magicJack. However , you can choose from a list of area codes and telephone numbers when you first set it up, and receive calls at that number wherever you are in the world.
Perhaps a bigger negative for most people is the fact that you can’t turn off the magicJack’s advertisements. The following is from the terms of service agreement:
You also understand and agree that use of the magicJack device and Software will include advertisements. Advertisements will be served through the magicPage™ Software or the magicJack softphone – the software/softphone attempts to serve local advertisements and classifieds using a completely automated process that enables us to effectively target dynamically changing content. Our computers may analyze the phone numbers you call and your registration information in order to improve the relevance of the ads. We do not provide any personal information to our advertisers or third parties.
That sounds pretty irritating , but I guess it’s like a bad smell: with the passage of time , you hardly even notice it. But that’s not the biggest negative point of the magicJack. The biggest disadvantage , when thought of being a replacement for a regular land line, is that it doesn’t work when your computer is off .
Lastly , let’s look at the Ooma Telo. From the aspect of being a replacement for a traditional home phone, the Ooma Telo has the all of the good points and none of the bad points of the preceding two products .
Like Vonage, it works independently from your computer, so it doesn’t matter if your computer is on or off, or even if you have a computer. It’s also more or less stationary. That’s a positive for a household with young children. now, most people rely on their cell phones most of the time, but if you have young children in the house, it can be reassuring to have a phone accessible to anyone who might be at home with them, like parents or a baby sitter.
As with magicJack, Ooma Telo does not charge monthly phone bills . In fact , there are no phone bills at all. After you purchase the Ooma Telo box, you are only charged $11.75 a year for taxes and regulatory fees.
The Ooma Telo is a modern and sleek unit and includes an answering machine that is operated by capacitive sensing technology, which means that the buttons respond to the slightest touch .
One disadvantage is that it isn’t very portable . Of course you can take it with you if you move house , but it’s not a gadget that you would carry around with you all the time .
The disadvantage of the Ooma Telo is the initial investment . It is from $200.00 to $250.00. That’s not exactly a king’s ransom , but it will put a bigger dent in you bank account than the 40 bucks for a magicJack. However , in comparison to Vonage, it would pay for itself in no time .
To Sum up , Vonage is a solution that offers a seamless transition from a fixed-line telephone to VoIP (with the caveat that number portability is not available for some land line numbers) and a list of features that make it a lot more convenient than your land line phone service ever could be . Unfortunately, it’s one of the most expensive VoIP providers.
MagicJack is easy on the pocketbook , but is not the ideal replacement for a land line: it doesn’t offer existing number portability and doesn’t work when your computer is off .
The Ooma Telo offers the best of both worlds. Like Vonage it offers a seamless transition from a land line to VoIP (with the same caveat about existing number portability) and similar to the magicJack, when you say “hello” to this VoIP provider, you can say “goodbye” to your monthly telephone bills. For more info and the best prices on the Ooma Telo, check out Ooma Telo.Net at http://www.oomatelo.net
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Filed under VoIP Office Solutions by on Oct 12th, 2010. 
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