Magic Jack is [a] good product: we have now had ours for 1 year.
It sounds good. However, I don't like the idea of having a device that ties up my computer when it could be a separate device on my home network.
Has Magic Jack thought of selling a stand-alone device that would take an IP address from your home/office router and do the same thing [without tying up the resources on your home/office computer]? It could use their network and achieve the same end. I'd gladly pay a bit more for the device up front to get the twenty dollar per year rate for service.
That's what all the regular VoIP providers do. They give you a box which has an ethernet plug on one side and an RJ-11 on the other, or in some cases they sell you a router with the VoIP box built in.
Lingo has a $7/mo plan with free incoming calls, free outgoing to US/Canada toll-free numbers and other Lingo customers, and about 3 cpm for most other calls. I like them, I used that plan when I was running a small business for which I needed a real phone number that rang and I could answer.
......... Anything that just plugs into a 'net connection without QoS at the local congestion point - usually the last router/modem - is not going to provide decent VoIP on a link with any sort of high utilization.
Many people are starting to use VoIP and are getting it wrong by not having a QoS device managing their traffic, and this can lead to a lot of disappointment with the technology.
MagicJack provides all the features you mention. If it's really that big a drag buy a cheapo laptop (used or refurbed) and plug the MagicJack into that and thence to your phone system of choice.
I realize that. But do you know of any of them that offer it for twenty dollars per year? That's why I'd prefer to use their network but with a standalone device rather than having to tie up cycles on my PC. As I previously said, I'd gladly pay an extra one time charge for the hardware.
Sounds good. Maybe I'll look into them.
In the meantime, I wish Magic Jack would consider my idea.
I use OneSuite, [which has] no monthly charge, and [I] never pay more then 3CPM. Since I use my regular POTS all incoming calls are free, [and] I don't have to leave a computer on.
OneSuite is as low as 1.9CPM to USA-Canada: [it] works as [a] prepaid phone card, [and a] PIN [is] not needed for calls from home or [a] cell phone.
I don't know of anyone else who assigns you a phone number cheaper than Lingo. If you're willing to tie up your PC and accept their ads (see the terms of service), the price for Magic Jack is hard to beat.
Onesuite's main offering is a calling card that you use for outbound calls in connection with an existing phone, or over the net via a softphone that runs on your PC. It's a perfectly decent calling card, but 3cpm is not particular cheap these days. It happens to be the same price Lingo charges for outbound calls on its $7 plan.
If you want incoming phone service from Onesuite, they have something called SuiteAdvantage for $3/mo extra, but that ties up your PC since you have to be running their softphone to accept calls. I'd use the Magicjack dongle instead.
What is the current compensation rate carriers have to pay the carrier that terminates the call? It seems that this is going to be a limiting factor on long distance, unless the long distance carrier also terminates the call (which is why net calling is typically free).
For the major telcos, it is now very low, a small fraction of a cent per minute. There's still rural LECs who get multi-cent payments, but give or take the occasional "free" international forwarding or conference service, their share of the traffic is tiny.
It's pretty common to find flat rate long distance plans from telcos for $20/mo, or the equivalent bundled into an overall plan. You can easily find prepaid calling cards charging 1cpm or less.
R's, John
***** Moderator's Note *****
My son regularly uses a pay phone to call me from his school, using prepaid phone cards. I have yet to find one that doesn't add a surcharge - as much as 75 cents in one case - for any pay phone call, so keep in mind that most advertised prices assume you're calling from a non-public phone.
Bill Horne Temporary Moderator
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In the US, the payphone provider gets paid something like 50 cents for every 800 call, so I'm not surprised.
I have a card with no surcharge, but you have to buy it in Canada. If you're ever in the frozen north, drop by a Loblaws (also known as Canadian Superstore and some other things) and get a Presidents Choice calling card. It's C$.04 per minute. Once you have one you can recharge it from anywhere over the net.
If he has access to a phone that can make local calls, you might look for a local access phone card, since those are cheaper and don't have a payphone surcharge.
R's, John
***** Moderator's Note *****
I invite responses from Canadian readers who are interested in starting a cottage industry. I'll be your first customer.
My son's school insists that all calls be made on the payphone, and when I offered to install a private line for his use, they said they were going to set one up for all the students to use "soon", but somehow that hasn't happened. I suspect they're too busy counting the receipts from their pay phone business.
Bill Horne Temporary Moderator
Please put [Telecom] at the end of your subject line, or I may never see your post! Thanks!
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Actually, Onesuite prepaid calling card rates via local access numbers across the US [are] only 2.5 cents per minute [when] calling a US number and only 1.9 cpm to Canada. The .5 cents and 1.1 cents difference (versus the 3 cents you mentioned) adds up if you make [a lot of] calls.
About their SuiteAdvantage: yes, you use softphone in your PC, which only consumes about 14 MB of RAM (it doesn't use [many] PC resources), and, like MagicJack, you also need a PC to use it, but SuiteAdvantage can [also] be set up (though Onesuite [won't] give support) on a regular ATA device (Grandstream, Linksys, etc) so you can leave your PC turned off and still use their VoIP service. On MagicJack, there's no way you can use it without a PC, and that's really a drawback, especially if you are trying to save money (the very reason you are using voip) [because] you need your PC to be on 24/7.
I usually use the toll free number for OneSuite access as local access calls here in NYC are billed at 11¢ with tax.
If I were to know that my OneSuite LDX call would [were to?] be long talk-length I would use local access # and then get the 2.5CPM. Otherwise it is cheaper to pay 2.9CPM for =
I don't want to get another yearly plan, or even [a] monthly plan: I once did, and fell victim to SunRocket's sudden closure, losing 7 months of unused service in the process. At the same time, my calling habits are perfect for pay as you go plans like Onesuite, and [I like] not worrying if I'm doing enough calls just to make my money's worth on the plan.
I agree, but [I'm] not sure how many providers offer prepaid phone card amd voip service in one account. Also, we are talking about Magic Jack here so I just pointed out MJ disadvantage.
In most of NYC (except Staten Island) local service uses message units. Unless you have a calling bundle, all local calls are one message unit, which is about 9 cents.
Before you complain about what a ripoff it is, the alternative is to build the price of an average number of calls into the price. For people who make relatively few local calls, it's a good deal. For people who make a whole lot of local calls, there are in-state bundles.
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