And I'll try to make it brief.
I just had Verizon FIOS installed a few months ago and considered dropping my land line in favor of VOIP. I was excited about all the 'features' offered by the VOIP providers as well as the lower price and did some Internet research for offerings and customer reviews. Looked hardest at Vonage, VoiceWing (Verizon) and CallVantage (AT&T). (When I started comparing prices, the unlimited packages from Vonage, VoiceWing and CallVantage were $25, $35, and $30; since then VoiceWing has dropped their price to match Vonage). Since I didn't use enough Long Distance to pay a flat fee every month, I looked at the packages with unlimited local calling and per minute long distance. Wasn't interested in a plan with limited minutes of local calling. CallVantage seemed to fit my needs best at $20 per month plus $2 for call filtering, total monthly bill with taxes about $27. The customer reviews for voice quality with CallVantage were very good (and that proved to be true for me).
When I tried to 'port' my number from a local CLEC online, the application was denied, and a CS rep explained that AT&T does not have a porting agreement with that phone company. He suggested I port my number to Verizon, then to AT&T. I wanted to try out the service before committing my home number of 40 years to AT&T. So I signed up with another local number. Worked great from the get-go. As soon as the Telephone Adapter (TA) arrived, I plugged it in to the FIOS wireless router and after a brief automated setup, I could use the phone. (Some configurations suggest putting the TA between the router and modem so that the TA can channel enough of the bandwidth to provide high voice quality. But with that configuration, I could not access the Internet with my computer. At 5M/2M with FIOS, there was plenty of bandwidth when the TA was plugged in to the router.)
I called Verizon and signed up for a landline package. At the end of the conversation, I mentioned that I had DSL on the line with the CLEC. Can't port a number with DSL on the line. Didn't make sense to me, porting means canceling the service, doesn't it? So I called the CLEC and asked to cancel my DSL. (One doesn't dare cancel the phone service or the number evaporates and it can't be retrieved.) Twenty five business days to cancel DSL!!! My porting to Verizon was put on hold for six weeks. Finally, one day without phone service for about 4 hours, I figured the CLEC must be doing something with my line, and I called Verizon for the go-ahead with porting my number. Eight business days. The transfer went through without a hitch, and I wasn't without phone service for more than a few minutes. I felt bad about 'using' Verizon this way, just to port my number to AT&T. But then I got my first bill, and the $27 for the package exploded into over $38 per month with all the taxes and fees. I distinctly remember being told by the Verizon customer rep that long distance was 6 cpm. (It was a new package, not shown online). The paperwork showed the cost was 8 cpm. Doesn't look like a big difference, but it's a 33% increase over what I was told.
I figured I'd give Verizon a month and then ask AT&T to port my number to my VOIP service. No, I didn't want it as a second line, I want to cancel the number I got from AT&T and use my home number when t is ported over. It would take about two weeks. Later in the first week, I get an message from AT&T that they can't detect my TA on my line, so the transfer will be delayed another week to give me time to set up my TA. A call to CS and the problem was resolved. I was 'told' that the installation would happen on the coming Friday, but the emails kept telling me it would happen a week later. I canceled the number AT&T gave me initially, and tried to reprogram the TA. Didn't work. Another call to Tech Support and the helpful person registered my "MAC address" {What does that mean? I'm using a PC :>)} I have a dial tone and can make outgoing calls, but incoming calls still go to my landline. Except my son, who has AT&T VOIP, calls my home number, and it comes through on the VOIP phone.
The day arrives for porting. Both phones have dial tones. I call my home number with my cell phone and the VOIP phone rings! Wahoo, I've been switched at last! A friend who has the same exchange as we do calls, and my land line rings. I've been partially switched? Call Tech Support. He says Verizon will probably pull the plug around midnight. Next day, my landline is dead and all calls are coming into the VOIP phone.
Now to rewire the house, so I can use the house wiring for multiple phones. Before my service was shut off, I measured the voltage and polarity of the incoming landline and wrote it on the wall. As the instructions indicated, I disconnected the incoming wires (I have an old house, old installation, and the wires are easily accessible). I unplugged every phone and answering machine in the house. Plugged a telephone wire into the back of the TA and into the nearby telephone jack. Measured the voltage where all the lines come together and found that the POLARITY WAS REVERSED!!! The instructions say nothing about checking the polarity, or reversing leads on the jack that the TA plugs in to. I tediously reversed the red and green wires on the back of the jack that i was using for the TA, and rechecked the voltage and polarity at the junction of all the phone wires. Polarity correct. Plugged one phone in at a time, tested for a dial tone, and every one worked.
It now appears that my Voip phone is set up exactly as the landline was with a few differences. No need to dial 1. An occasional requirement to verify that I haven't moved the TA when the power goes out. A lot lower bill than even the most basic landline provides. And a ton of useful features that would cost an arm and a leg if purchased through Verizon's smorgasbord. So far, one happy VOIP user.
Lena