Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

[Johnny]

My oh my, lately the array of choices for service providers has been astonishing.

That would be a good thing for us consumers as competition is the name of the game.

One thing I don't understand though, why some folks quibble over a few dollars a month.

For instance, most of the new providers, and even some of the regulars, have been offering packages at great rates, and people jump on them because they can save a few dollars a month.

Now, I wish all the providers only the best in this highly competitive field, but unless you simply want to support a new company or you have a personal preference to a company, why would you choose one based on saving a buck or two per month?

I also think it's foolish to sign up for a year or two of service no matter what the savings are.  Too many chances for things to go awry.

Again, just to save a couple dollars some people will take all kinds of chances.

Why not go with an established company such as Voip.ms, Callcentric, Future-nine or even Anveo?

You really can't go wrong with any of those four no matter what they charge.

Maybe if your on the phone 24/7 I could see wanting to save a little cash, but for a regular guy/gal, you're not gonna save that much with the cheapest providers.

I guess what I'm trying to say is don't base your choice strictly on cost.

Cheapest isn't always the best choice......

[KAura]

If the quality is the same, then cheapest
is the most sensible choice...


If you are frivolous: loose with credit,
spend $500 on a cell phone every year,
buy a new car every year, move often,
are a contractor but aren't paid per diem,
could have business expenses and write
most of this off, but aren't willing to spend
$35 to have a business...


monthly charges:
have $100+ in cell charges, $60+ on a
landline, $60+ satellite television, gas, etc...

perhaps a few $$ here and there doesn't
matter, but it CAN add up quickly, but it's
entirely up to you...  so when you are a lot
older and have your job snatched out from
under you by someone younger, or your
jobs are moved overseas and all that is
left is McDonald's, then you might get a clue.


Older people, these days would rather go to
each others' houses or sit in the park than
listen to all the drugs being pushed on the tv
and by most of the doctors.

Some day you will understand...  it rains on
the just and on the unjust.

[aopisa]

Because when you save a few dollars a month in more than a few areas, it adds up.

Ditched my cable company phone at about $30/month and bought an obi 100 with GV and e911 for .80/month. That paid for itself pretty quickly.

Stopped paying the cable company to rent my router at $8 month and bought a cable router that actually works better. Did not take long for that to pay for itself too.

Got rid of the satellite radio in the car to stream internet radio/etc. at a savings of somewhere around $15/month.

Renegotiated my cellular contract to get more service for a $10 a month less.

I could go on, but that adds up to a savings of over $700 a year.

Sure, quibbling over a few dollars a month for a voip provider seems trivial, but I try to look at the bigger picture. I don't want to go back to paying more than I need to for phone service. All these little saving add up to a much larger more tangible amount.

[MikeHObi]

Most people don't quibble about it and have Vonage if they have Voip. Folks using Obi's or posting here are the edge cases and we are a different sort.  For many of us the idea of free with google voice was great.  So anything  different needs to have a similar or as close to similar value proposition.

[callhome]

I for one just likes to support the new kid on the block, underdog, or what have you, hoping they make it and continue to provide good service. Saving a few bucks a month is good too. Some of the newcomers have been extremely responsive to suggestions, much more so than an larger established company.

[SteveInWA]

My oh my, lately the array of choices for service providers has been astonishing.

That would be a good thing for us consumers as competition is the name of the game.

One thing I don't understand though, why some folks quibble over a few dollars a month.

For instance, most of the new providers, and even some of the regulars, have been offering packages at great rates, and people jump on them because they can save a few dollars a month.

Now, I wish all the providers only the best in this highly competitive field, but unless you simply want to support a new company or you have a personal preference to a company, why would you choose one based on saving a buck or two per month?

I also think it's foolish to sign up for a year or two of service no matter what the savings are.  Too many chances for things to go awry.

Again, just to save a couple dollars some people will take all kinds of chances.

Why not go with an established company such as Voip.ms, Callcentric, Future-nine or even Anveo?

You really can't go wrong with any of those four no matter what they charge.

Maybe if your on the phone 24/7 I could see wanting to save a little cash, but for a regular guy/gal, you're not gonna save that much with the cheapest providers.

I guess what I'm trying to say is don't base your choice strictly on cost.

Cheapest isn't always the best choice......

I agree completely, but I seem to be in the minority here.  This forum (like MikeHObi said more politely than I), is weighted toward those who thought GV was a free telephone company, now have expectations that free or near-free phone service should be the norm, and will play into the race-to-the-bottom competition.  The problem is, no, the quality is definitely not the same from one carrier to the next, and yes, there is a definite cost to deliver VoIP service.

I use Callcentric, and I have personally been very impressed with their "sweet spot" of high service quality, honest business practices, and fast, knowledgeable tech support and customer account support via email.  Yes, their rates are higher, but you get what you pay for. 

Voip.ms is my other recommendation as another top-notch provider all around.

If all you care about is cheap outbound calling, and don't care about possible latency issues, GB-based Localphone may suit your needs.

A few months ago, I would have also recommended Anveo, but seeing how they play nickel/dime games with paid customer service tickets, treat customers badly, block outbound calls to certain high-priced CLECs (cherry-picking) and other BS, I gave up on them.

Read through the ITSP section, and somebody will have a rant about horrible customer service or service quality issues with this or that ITSP.  Customer service and quality VoIP call routes cost money. So, it all depends on each person's tolerance for problems vs. price.

I could make a crude analogy to the consequence of picking the cheapest from a line of prostitutes, but hey, I won't take that any further...

[CLTGreg]

Most people don't quibble about it and have Vonage if they have Voip. Folks using Obi's or posting here are the edge cases and we are a different sort.  For many of us the idea of free with google voice was great.  So anything  different needs to have a similar or as close to similar value proposition.

I agree with this. Lots of tinkering and time under the hood. Often it's about the journey and not the destination.

I certainly was scratching my head though watching all the Zero Dollar users here when I first joined. Some are very adamant about paying anything. I've spent a fair amount of money trying out different providers including paying two for a year up front (one of which I regret). In the long run I'll save money and next month I'll drop the 250 minute Uvserse line when it goes to $25 per month. I haven't used it in months as I prepare for the GV switch.

And every time I go to cancel Dish they offer me a deal that is only $2 over the ETF. But when that contract is up it's goodbye to them too.

[aopisa]

Most people don't quibble about it and have Vonage if they have Voip. Folks using Obi's or posting here are the edge cases and we are a different sort.  For many of us the idea of free with google voice was great.  So anything  different needs to have a similar or as close to similar value proposition.

I agree with this. Lots of tinkering and time under the hood. Often it's about the journey and not the destination.

I certainly was scratching my head though watching all the Zero Dollar users here when I first joined. Some are very adamant about paying anything. I've spent a fair amount of money trying out different providers including paying two for a year up front (one of which I regret). In the long run I'll save money and next month I'll drop the 250 minute Uvserse line when it goes to $25 per month. I haven't used it in months as I prepare for the GV switch.

And every time I go to cancel Dish they offer me a deal that is only $2 over the ETF. But when that contract is up it's goodbye to them too.

I agree too. I really enjoyed my nearly free stint with GV.  The slight technical challenges that it required of me was worth the savings and the fun knowing that I did not have to pay Comcast many times more for the exact same thing. Still, I don't get that much enjoyment of trying to recreate the same scenario by jumping through hoops with a free DID from one place and outgoing calls for $ from one provider and and incoming calls at another price or free from someone else. I will pay a little more for the convenience of having everything in one place.

Oh, and I don't watch too much TV, but get just enough from my Roku box with Netflix, Hulu and PBS.

[danielbliss]

I've spent a fair amount of money trying out different providers including paying two for a year up front (one of which I regret).

Do you mind sharing which provider you ended up regretting?  (I understand if you'd rather not share the information... I'm just hoping to avoid a mistake by capitalizing off of yours  .)  Or do you mean you simply regret paying for two in general (when one would have been enough)?