OBiTALK Approved Service Provider Program
Rick:
I'm taking the "wait until end of April" approach, letting people that want to be on the bleeding edge do so. Then, I'll evaluate what seems the best at the time.
I won't be going, no matter what the price, with a service that seems like it's being run out of a guy's basement. Having used Callcentric for a short period for E911 and learning that their database was corrupt at one point, they got hacked for weeks, and then they didn't have their own generators or a co-located center, I'm not going to pick Fred's basement service, which is what one of the options I've seen discussed.
I also question why I need to pay up front for a year. If your service stinks, I'm leaving, and I expect at least a pro-rated refund.
I've also got to say that I've been really disappointed in OBi. The device was much more difficult to get working than it should have been - and I'm fairly technical although VoIP is new to me. Their firmware update process is garbage, we had to teach Sherman the right way to post an update so that we'd get notified, and that worked for a short period until he stopped doing it. Calls to him and emails to his attention never got returned. As a result, I stopped updating my firmware because my device was working fine.
Switching to the OBi and GV was right for me at the time - I dumped my landline and saved money, but ran into issues with my internet solution for my home alarm and had to switch to cellular for that, adding the cost of that device plus a monthly charge. While that monthly charge, plus whatever I will need to pay for future phone service after the OBi/GV connection breaks, will still be somewhat less, saving $15 or so a month really wasn't worth all the aggravation. Yes, my alarm system is now not vulnerable to a phone or internet cable being cut, but I wasn't that concerned about it.
I'm leaning towards dumping all of this stuff and switching to linking my home phone line to my cell line via Bluetooth, which is how I have my 92 year old in-laws set-up (they have emergency buttons on their wrists to summon help in Assisted Living, so no E911 is needed). It works well for them, and would likely work well for us. If we make all our outgoing calls on our cells, then the only thing I have to resolve is that GV will only forward our home number to one cell phone, and that's problematic. I may look into porting our number to one of the services that gives free incoming minutes and just never use the outgoing.
ceg3:
Rick you made a lot of interesting comments, and I do think some of the VoIP solutions are overly complicated. I did sign up for a year with Obivoice and am very pleased with it so far, but if you are looking for an alternative take a look at Lingo. They are a very sophisticated "plug and play" service, with excellent telephone support, and I used them in the past for two years with no issues. They are just not discounted enough for me to justify paying the taxes and fees they charge. My brother actually signed up with good ole Vonage not too long ago for a fixed rate of 9.99 and a little in fees and is very happy with them. I find Obivoice is at the right price point for me, though I do expect some pricing to increase over time. I have no expectation that any VoIP service will be completely flawless and without an occasional hiccup. After all, it's the internet and the internet promises much and ........ sometimes it actually works! ;D
simpleAnswers:
Quote from: Rick on February 14, 2014, 08:20:57 am
I also question why I need to pay up front for a year. If your service stinks, I'm leaving, and I expect at least a pro-rated refund.
I signed up for Obivoice and it clearly states that any cancellation is prorated to their monthly service. I paid 60 for 2 years service which at monthly rate would have been 4 times that much.
Quote from: Rick on February 14, 2014, 08:20:57 am
I've also got to say that I've been really disappointed in OBi. The device was much more difficult to get working than it should have been - and I'm fairly technical although VoIP is new to me.
Lol :-\, have to disagree on that one. The basic usage of setting up GV on an Obi and using a regular phone is absolutely painless. Thats why it sold soo many. However, if you want to do some fun stuff, it is not that easy, however, I have to thank Obi for at least making this forum available. I have not only found solutions here, but new ideas on how to get more out of the Obi. The update sucks because it resets some settings, that I'll blame squarely on Obi.
Quote from: Rick on February 14, 2014, 08:20:57 am
Switching to the OBi and GV was right for me at the time - I dumped my landline and saved money, but ran into issues with my internet solution for my home alarm and had to switch to cellular for that, adding the cost of that device plus a monthly charge.
This one is simple, sounds like you are using one of the nickel and dime alarm monitoring services (yes one of the big ones). In my area, I was paying the same, when I asked them about mobile monitoring they wanted to charge hundreds to enable mobile, then add like $10 to my monthly charge. Needless to say when my contract was up, I switched to another monitoring which get this "Offers wireless monitoring as standard". :P and charged 70% less. They will still connect to the landline as a backup but never use it. YES I do an alarm test monthly. The best part was, they used my existing sensors so the conversion was easy.
giqcass:
Quote from: Rick on February 14, 2014, 08:20:57 am
If we make all our outgoing calls on our cells, then the only thing I have to resolve is that GV will only forward our home number to one cell phone, and that's problematic.
Go to your GV account and tell it your cell phone is a home phone. Then do the same with your wifes cell phone. Now that both phones are listed as a "home Phone" in Google Voice both phones can be selected as forwarding phones at the same time. Google voice will no longer send text messages to your cell phone but if you download the GV app it will notify you of text messages.
giqcass:
Quote from: MikeHObi on February 13, 2014, 04:57:36 pm
Quote from: Anveo on February 13, 2014, 01:46:01 pm
Our underlying CLEC in US is the same one used by Google Voice ( Bandwidth.com ) which means we have the same coverage as Google Voice.
Hmm, had some issues with my Anveo quality and now it may make some sense. I've heard of some issues with bandwidth.com. If I can find them I'll link them in.
I was happy to hear Anveo is partnered with bandwidth.com. The company does not get a lot of press in mainstream media but they are major players. They also happen to be my Cell phone provider. The fact that you have only heard of a few issues with a large business speaks to their quality.
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