Ok so I've had Vonage for over 10 years and it's worked fine as a service. Lately though the amount of extras they add on to the bill has become ridiculous. Here are the extra charges that Vonage puts on my account every month:
Regulartory, Compliance and Intellectual Property Fee $5.98
Federal Program $6.38
Emergency 911 and Information Services Fee $3.98
Now mind you the last item is not the 911 local fee which is another $7.80. This is just Vonage charging me for the info they are supposed to give to 911. The other two charges are simply Vonage charging me for lobbying to the government. Keep all of those in mind, on top of regular taxes, if you're hoping to get Vonage. I certainly would not recommend them.
Now you may ask why I stick with them. They do offer free international calls which itself has value for me. If it doesn't for you I would stay away.
I've had a great experience with Ooma for the last 5 years or so. Of course, I got in while it was still TOTALLY free after you paid for the box. The company is trying to trick me into "upgrading," which of course brings me into the various regulatory fees and taxes, while the service is "free." No free international calls, but at least the various fees seem to be less.
I have magic jack, and I like it. It's cheap and it works fine. My primary phone number is a Google voice number, so any incoming calls to me ring my home phones, cell phone, and gmail account.
The only annoying thing about magicjack is that you have to dial the area code when making phone calls.
I have the model from a couple years back that doesn't require a computer, just ethernet and power.
I think they may have raised the rates since I got mine and bought 5 years of service, about 2 years back, but it's definitely still far cheaper than Vontage.
I read that outbound calls have different numbers for the receiving end. Are you experiencing this?
I have magic jack, and I like it. It's cheap and it works fine. My primary phone number is a Google voice number, so any incoming calls to me ring my home phones, cell phone, and gmail account. The only annoying thing about magicjack is that you have to dial the area code when making phone calls. I have the model from a couple years back that doesn't require a computer, just ethernet and power. I think they may have raised the rates since I got mine and bought 5 years of service, about 2 years back, but it's definitely still far cheaper than Vontage.
Comments & Reviews (5)
Regulartory, Compliance and Intellectual Property Fee $5.98
Federal Program $6.38
Emergency 911 and Information Services Fee $3.98
Now mind you the last item is not the 911 local fee which is another $7.80. This is just Vonage charging me for the info they are supposed to give to 911. The other two charges are simply Vonage charging me for lobbying to the government. Keep all of those in mind, on top of regular taxes, if you're hoping to get Vonage. I certainly would not recommend them.
Now you may ask why I stick with them. They do offer free international calls which itself has value for me. If it doesn't for you I would stay away.
The only annoying thing about magicjack is that you have to dial the area code when making phone calls.
I have the model from a couple years back that doesn't require a computer, just ethernet and power.
I think they may have raised the rates since I got mine and bought 5 years of service, about 2 years back, but it's definitely still far cheaper than Vontage.
Thank you!