Want to drop landline and switch to Obi. Clueless!
Pi314:
I'm with Verizon for home phone (regular copper line).
just got Comcast/xfinity for internet.
heard I can save $ by dropping Verizon and switching my phone # to Obi.
I have not bought any hardware.
What do I need to do? ???
(talk to me like I'm a 5yr old.)
Is there a FAQ on how to switch?
thx
RFC3261:
Quote from: Pi314 on July 28, 2015, 08:34:53 am
What do I need to do?
To obtain the best advice, you need to provide a bit more information regarding your requirements.
These things are off the top of my head:
* Do you have more than one line?
* Do you make a lot of outgoing calls? How many minutes per month?
* Do you make international calls?
* Do you live in, or make calls to phone exchanges with high call completion
charges (usually rural areas that receive subsidies from the FCC)
* Do you need/want to keep your existing number?
* Are you willing to accept that if your Internet goes down, so will your phone service?
(this includes power losses in your residence)
* Do you have any dial-out modem requirements for things like alarms?
* Fax requirements?
* Where are you on the cost/reliability curve?
I am sure there are others, but these would be a good start.
I will note that Comcast is (more than) willing to offer a bundle with phone service. And while that is not always the best choice, you should look into the option.
Pi314:
Quote from: RFC3261 on July 28, 2015, 11:08:31 am
Quote from: Pi314 on July 28, 2015, 08:34:53 am
What do I need to do?
To obtain the best advice, you need to provide a bit more information regarding your requirements.
These things are off the top of my head:
* Do you have more than one line?
* Do you make a lot of outgoing calls? How many minutes per month?
* Do you make international calls?
* Do you live in, or make calls to phone exchanges with high call completion
charges (usually rural areas that receive subsidies from the FCC)
* Do you need/want to keep your existing number?
* Are you willing to accept that if your Internet goes down, so will your phone service?
(this includes power losses in your residence)
* Do you have any dial-out modem requirements for things like alarms?
* Fax requirements?
* Where are you on the cost/reliability curve?
I am sure there are others, but these would be a good start.
I will note that Comcast is (more than) willing to offer a bundle with phone service. And while that is not always the best choice, you should look into the option.
-I also have a cell phone, pageplus (Verizon reseller)
-I only make local calls using my home phone and not very many minutes. I use my cell for everything else.
-no intl calls
-no to phone exchanges
- yes, want to keep my home phone #.
it would be a MAJOR pain to call up my credit cards/banks/doctors/etc and change them
- yes, will accept no phone service if no internet. I still have my cell.
-no alarm company or fax requirements
- don't really care if my home phone goes up and down like a yoyo.
my main purpose is laziness in calling up companies and changing the #.
I guess a minor purpose is 911. But in the 10yrs I've lived here, I have never called 911.
DR_MN:
sounds like what you want to do is save your landline phone number. Have you considered porting it to RingTo? It's free to port a landline number and then all you'd have to do is forward it to your cell phone.
I ended up porting my landline to RingTo and forward it to a voip provider that's set up on my Obi100. You can also set up RingTo directly on the Obi device.
If using your cell phone for all calls isn't an issue for you then just porting to ringto and forwarding to the cell is a no cost way to go.
SteveInWA:
To add to the excellent set of questions and considerations provided by RFC3261:
Asking that question here on the forum is a bit tricky, as the regular posters tend to have a high level of interest and/or skill in VoIP telephone technology, and enjoy tinkering with it. Some folks turn this into a hobby with a curious level of intensity or focus, and that may not describe your level of interest or technical skill. Translation: this stuff is not for everyone.
Your main goal is to keep your existing home phone number, but given that you also have a cell phone, you'd like to "cut the cord" to what is no longer a heavily-used service.
RFC3261 brought up a point worth exploring: Take a look at the current cost of your Verizon land line. Call Comcast and see what they'll negotiate, if you port your existing Verizon number to them. Usually, bundling in a "2-fer" like internet+telephone service gives you a discount on each service, so don't sign up during that sales call; take some time to do the math and compare the net cost difference if you go with Comcast, vs. staying with Verizon, vs, neither of those two.
Comcast does charge a lot of money for their telephone service, which they try to market to people who will heavily use it for unlimited calling. Pro: it is very reliable, and runs over their managed IP network, so call quality should be excellent (as long as you have excellent internet service, which sadly isn't a given everywhere). Con: it may not be worth the price (you don't need that level of service).
If you want to save money and just keep that number for occasional inbound and outbound calls and E-911 service, then you can port your existing phone number to one of the quality SIP VoIP service providers that work with OBi devices, or to Google Voice. If you choose the latter option, keep in mind that porting is more complex, because Google can't accept inbound ports from land line providers. You'd need to first port the Verizon number to a prepaid cell phone company, like AT&T GoPhone or T-Mobile, then wait a few days to a week, and then port it to GV. There is a broad range of pricing among the providers, depending on calling volume and services offered.
There is great deal of previous discussion on these topics here on the forum, so please feel free to do some time reading through the material, to answer some of the previously-answered, common questions, then come back with your next round.
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