Just wondering if anyone has data or anecdotes about how strict VOIP service providers are in detecting and cracking down on very intermittent "business use" or commercial use of a residential home VOIP plan. I'm thinking of my situation, where I may dial in to a 1-2 hour meeting on a corporate teleconferencing line from home, once or twice per month (or some months not at all). Or my wife may dial in to a brainstorming conference call, or a telecon seminar, every now and then.
Very likely the answer is "it depends", but I'd appreciate if I could get a sense of how at risk I'd be for being cut off for the usage I've described.
In particular, I'm looking at Vestalink (formerly Obivoice), so stories about them would be especially awesome. But if there's another provider that's very accommodating for occasional business use I'd certainly consider them.
VestaLink specifically is known to have a draconian policy and disconnect heavy users even before they've reached the monthly quota. See: http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r29182580-
Other providers vary, but a good rule of thumb is that the lower the price - the less they'll let you get away with.
As far as Future Nine goes- we only investigate accounts which show extreme calling patterns - think 4000 minutes a month and/or 500+ calls. The occasional conference call we wouldn't even look at.
Nitzan,
Thanks for the warning, for that link, and for reminding me to look into Future Nine.
I'm having trouble finding some information on your site, which appears to be partially upgraded (e.g., some really old info about 911 is posted as "news" and FAQ on some pages but not others)? Anyway...
- How much are extra outgoing minutes (beyond 250) on your Bare Essentials plan? Are they the same as the PAYG rate of 0.01/min for US48?
- And I saw a "Future Five" plan described on a dslreports page, but is says that Outgoing Caller ID name is only free for a few states--is there a monthly fee to get that if I live elsewhere?
Sorry if those are answered in other threads here. I looked around some and didn't notice them, but only have a few minutes on my lunch break.