Exploring Residential Use of Vonage VOIP: Quality, Bandwidth, and 911 Concerns

  • Thread starter Pengwuino
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In summary: I can't even use it to talk to my wife at home when the power goes out. I have to use my cell phone. We'd also have to have a landline backup for our alarm system and "just in case". It'd still come out cheaper though!In summary, Vonage VOIP does not appear to offer any significant advantages over standard telephone service. The quality of voice transmission may be improved, but this benefit is not significant enough to outweigh the disadvantages of having no telephone service when the internet is unavailable.
  • #1
Pengwuino
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I've been thinking about getting this 1 month free trial of Vonage VOIP. Has anyone used it? What do you think about it for residential use? I've always wondered if your voice quality is as good as land lines nad if uploading things on your computer have much of an impact.

Have I asked this question before? geez...
 
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  • #2
I don't know specifically about Vonage or residential applications, but we have VOIP phones at work. I don't notice any difference at all in sound quality between them and standard lines...if anything, they're a bit better, as in, I have never encountered any static on the lines as you sometimes do with a regular phone line. The only downside that I've run into is that when the internet is down, so are the phones, so ALL forms of communication are down at once. This can get very frustrating in a business setting, because when I know I need to call someone, I can't even send an email informing them that the phones are out, or when I need to email something to them, I can't just call and let them know internet is down. I end up resorting to using my cell phone, which gets crappy reception in my office since my office is on the interior of the building. But, it's only happened 2 or 3 times, and only once was the outage more than a half hour.
 
  • #3
Yah the worst we have to worry about is the internet drops. It happened like once a year for a few minutes up until comcast switched DNS servers. Now its happening a lot... but i hope they fixed it. We'd also have to have a landline backup for our alarm system and "just in case". It'd still come out cheaper though!
 
  • #4
I never tried Voip, but some of the people I know have had bandwidth issues in residential setups.
Also, unless things have changed recently some areas don't get 911 with Voip.

My bigest problem with it, is when the power goes out.
 

1. What is Voice-over-IP (VoIP)?

VoIP is a technology that allows users to make phone calls over the internet instead of using traditional telephone lines. It converts voice signals into digital data and transmits them over the internet to the recipient.

2. How does VoIP work?

VoIP works by converting analog voice signals into digital data, which is then broken down into packets and transmitted over the internet. The packets are then reassembled at the receiving end to reproduce the original voice signal.

3. What are the benefits of using VoIP?

Some of the benefits of using VoIP include cost savings, as it eliminates the need for traditional phone lines, and the ability to make and receive calls from anywhere with an internet connection. VoIP also offers additional features such as voicemail, call forwarding, and video conferencing.

4. Is VoIP reliable?

Yes, VoIP is a reliable form of communication. However, its reliability can be affected by factors such as internet connectivity and network congestion. It is important to have a stable internet connection for optimal VoIP performance.

5. Is VoIP secure?

VoIP is generally considered to be secure, but there are some potential security risks such as eavesdropping and phishing attacks. To ensure the security of your VoIP calls, it is important to use encryption and implement security measures such as strong passwords and firewalls.

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