[dba-Tech] VOIP / Vonage

John,

Janet has a client over there on Lake Winneconne that uses Vonage. 
He's a retired executive and has called me a couple of times to get it
working properly.

He tells me that overseas per minute rates with Vonage are
astoundingly low...for some countries as low as 2 cents a minute.  He
calls overseas frequently, so that's why he got the service.

This fellow uses an HP OfficeJet for his faxing.  That was the only
problematical thing as far as I could tell.  I don't know if he's
using it much since we could get it to send but receiving was
funny...I think it was because he didn't have a separate phone number
for faxing.

His electronic setup for his equipment is a treat:  Laptop, USB
keyboard and mouse, USB hub, OfficeJet, two Vonage phones, 5-port
phone jack, Linksys RT31P2 router w/two phone ports, Linksys WRT54G
wireless router, Netopia DSL modem, and a phone line splitter for his
local phone and the IP line.  My diagram of his setup is a work of
art.

Steve Erbach

On 1/27/06, John Bartow <john at winhaven.net> wrote:
> Thanks John, that's what I needed to hear!
>
> I'll definitely put you down as a referral. If there's anything I need to
> know to do that please just send it to me at:
> john at winhaven.net
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: dba-tech-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
> [mailto:dba-tech-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of John Colby
>
> It saves me a TON of money for regular phone, which I give some back to them
> in the fax and 800 number.  It is $25+ for unlimited local/long distance
> anywhere in the US and Canada.  Also very low rates to places like Mexico
> and Ireland.  $25 for unlimited phone is dirt cheap.  Of course you have to
> have high speed internet, but since I have to have that anyway for my
> business, I don't count that as a "phone" expense.  I talk to my clients for
> 1 hour regularly, 3 hours often.  At 10c / minute that is $6 / hour.  So it
> only takes a few hours to pay for the $25.  Plus we call family all over the
> country and talk as long as we wish.
>
> It is better quality than Cellular.
>
> As a result of having Vonage, I have no real use for the "unlimited middle
> of the night and weekend (what were those hours again)" cell phone crapola,
> and so I switched my Cellular to Virgin Mobile, where I am now paying less
> than $5 per month for cell phone - I don't use cell a lot, just a "pay phone
> in my pocket" kind of thing.  My cell is "pay as you go".  It costs me 25c /
> minute for the first 10 minutes a day, then 10c / min after that.  It turns
> out for my usage patterns (I may make / receive 1 call every few days) that
> is just incredibly cheap.  My wife is the same way.  Not the plan for a
> teenager however.
>
> So with Virgin Mobile my wife and I both have a cell, and it costs us a
> minimum of $5 / month apiece ($15 every 90 days to keep the number active).
> Not bad for "a pay phone in your pocket" - and it uses the Sprint network so
> the quality isn't too bad.  I paid $20 apiece for the phones, delivered to
> my door.  Basic but with everything I need.  No camera or all that happy HS
> but who cares.  It's a cell phone.
>
> I used to pay ATT $36 / month for ONE cell phone, and the "privilege" of a
> two year contract, early termination fees, piss poor customer service, and
> my wife and I were always having a discussion over who would carry it when
> we went out.
>
> So if a client calls on my cell, then it costs me more, but then my client
> pays a high enough hourly rate that the cost of the call is buried in the
> noise of expenses.  Plus, they really don't call me on my cell all that much
> since I work from home most of the time, so they get me on my Vonage line.
>
> So there you have it.  I do like Vonage, and I do like Virgin Mobile.  And
> if you decide to use either, let me know as I can get a referral "bonus" if
> you give either company a code that says I sent you.
>
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