We are moving our charitable organization office to a location served by WiFi. Am considering replacing our phone/DSL internet with a connection to the city's free WiFi and a Vonage/SunRocket/Net2Phone subscription. We use the phone rarely, but want to keep something for emergencies and occasional calls.
Are any of the services useable? Which is most reliable? Best voice quality? Best tech support?
Thanks for the info
Phil
pgx wrote: : We are moving our charitable organization office to a location served : by WiFi. Am considering replacing our phone/DSL internet with a : connection to the city's free WiFi and a Vonage/SunRocket/Net2Phone : subscription. We use the phone rarely, but want to keep something for : emergencies and occasional calls.
: Are any of the services useable? Which is most reliable? Best voice : quality? Best tech support?
Don't forget -- if the network you're using isn't working well, there is *no* chance for the VOIP service to work well. The WiFi service is likely to be the greatest limitation. Try out the services on that net
*before* you commit to it. Also, be aware that the circumstances could change becuase you don't control the WiFi nework.VOIP services don't take a lot of bandwidth, but do require a large number of packets per second (pps). WiFi wasn't built to push a lot of pps, so isn't an ideal medium for a VOIP network. WiFi *can* be used for VOIP, but there are limitations that you need to be aware of that can influence how well it works.
I would be leery of running a phone across a WiFi net that I didn't control - unless I didn't realy care if the phone worked...
For emergency purposes do not use VOiP. A power outage will also cause a telephone outage (unless you have power back up systems in place).
Which VOiP provider? I have seen negative reports on all and there is an online website that rates VOiP providers. I have had 2 VOiP providers in 2 years and I would not recommend either.
Telephone number portability can be a major issue, AFAIK none of the VOiP providers will guarantee your number will transfer.
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