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looking for voip provider

22K views 46 replies 21 participants last post by  ExDilbert 
#1 ·
Hi all,

Looking for a voip provider with minimum frills and features (VM, call display and call wait) and cheap monthly costs.

The big problem I'm running into is number porting. Live in Alberta with a number exchange not supported by many providers 780-922-XXXX

Yes I need to keep this number.

I would like the provider to allow BYOD if possible, but not a deal breaker.

Looked into alot providers but most wont port my number.

PhonePower will port my number but on the fence with that company and question how they price their service. With all the service fees and the exchange rate to USD it still pricey IMHO. I will not use most of the features they offer/.

Anyone have any recommendations?
 
#2 ·
I looked at all kinds of systems/options and ended up biting the bullet and buying an Ooma box. If you don't want US long distance just unlimited Canada wide calling, in Ontario it's under $4/month.. taxes and fees
I've been impressed with quality for the last few months.
 
#4 · (Edited by Moderator)
Disclaimer - I work for a company that sells VoIP Services

Hi Nexus77 - I saw a link to this post on a twitter account - and thought I would throw in my 2 cents.

As far as whether a VoIP Provider can accept a transfer of your phone number should strictly come down to your current service provider, and whether or not they will allow THEIR number to be transferred to a different provider (some existing providers are very stingy on this, and will not let their numbers go) - the best thing you can do is to contact your existing carrier, and find out if you're allowed to transfer our your specific number - if they say no, there isn't anything any provider will be able to do (as far as I know).

Now - with that said - I talked to our people here, and we can take any number in the US/Canada, as long as the existing provider allows it to transfer - the transfer process requires a form and, yes, your latest phone bill.

Just here to help!

R.J.
 
#13 ·
Disclaimer - I work for a company that sells VoIP Services

As far as whether a VoIP Provider can accept a transfer of your phone number should strictly come down to your current service provider, and whether or not they will allow THEIR number to be transferred to a different provider (some existing providers are very stingy on this, and will not let their numbers go) -
Not true as I was able to port my number to Speakout/Rogers mobile but not to voip.ms . As I understand it voip services do not have every number available. It depends on who they work with.

Oops I see Mango, the undisputed expert already said this more eloquently!

Depends what you need to retain the number for. We ported to a Speakout/Rogers and recorded a message stating our new toll-free number with voip.ms and most were able to comprehend.
 
#6 ·
Thanks for all the replies.

I checked with ooma before and they said they cant port my number.

I don't want to raise any flags with my current provider on porting my number out. I know others in my are who have ported numbers to MCSnet in the area.
(MCSnet is still too pricey for me to transfer to them)


DR.Dave - I did do a search and replied to Shawguy's post asking for an update with PP after a month service, thanks again for the links
 
#7 ·
To Nexus77 - I checked the VoIP service providers that I could think of that are commonly discussed here (other than PhonePower and Ooma which you already checked) - Callcentric, Anveo, VoIP.ms, and AcroVoice. AcroVoice is apparently the only one that can port your number.

To rjgazarek - I'm sorry to disagree with you. Your post is not correct.

1) As per CRTC regulations, a service provider cannot prevent you from porting your number to a new service provider.

2) Whether or not a specific service provider can port a number depends on the carrier(s) that they wholesale services from, and if the carrier has "presence" in that number's rate centre (geographic area). In other words, it depends on the winning carrier, not the losing one.

3) You should not contact your existing service provider to advise them that you want to port your number.

4) I highly doubt your company can port any number in the US/Canada. It would not be profitable for you to have access to every single rate centre everywhere.
 
#10 ·
Thanks again for the replies.

Mango- contacted ooma again and asked them to check my number and confirm LNP peeps that my number cant be ported... again the answer was no sorry not at this time. something about rate center and my area.

Sent AcroVoice an email and like what I see thus far. not alot of features for 10.95 cnd but I'm okay with that. they have the basic that I need/want. Looking at the website no BYOD but sent email to confirm and confirm number can be ported.

Anyone have any reviews?

Thanks again to all who took the time to post and reply
 
#12 ·
I don't want to turn this into a Acrovoice thread, but a few questions all based off the 10.95 just-a-phone plan

-does it support fax
-does it support BYOD
-what does the 350 min per month include (what calling area)?
-indicates no long distance charges within Canada, this mean up to 350 min/month for calls within Canada?
-have you experienced any server downtime?
 
#14 ·
a few questions
-does it support BYOD
They offer BYOD for a few select ATAs. I would let them know which one you have and ask if yours is supported. They will lock the ATA to their service, but a simple factory reset can unlock it in the unlikely event that you decide to cancel.

-does it support fax
Yes, if you buy your hardware from them or use an ATA that supports T.38. If you want to BYOD, be sure to mention you're interested in fax to verify your ATA is compatible.

-what does the 350 min per month include (what calling area)?
-indicates no long distance charges within Canada, this mean up to 350 min/month for calls within Canada?

The 350 minutes/month covers Canada and the USA, and a selection of international destinations that have rates similar to domestic calls.

-have you experienced any server downtime?
I recall one issue caused by a carrier outage a few years ago that resulted in about two hours' downtime for incoming calls only. I haven't experienced any downtime with AcroVoice's equipment. You may be interested to know that AcroVoice has switches in both British Columbia and Quebec. If any hardware or network issue arises with the equipment in one facility, the other should remain online and working.

Mango, the undisputed expert
Flatterer! :p
 
#16 ·
Thanks again all!
Mango - Thanks for the informative post and recommendation on Acrovoice.

I have signed up with Acrovoice and will be post a review after my number ports and some run time.

I would like to say that Acrovoice thus far has had outstanding professional customer service, fast responses and have answered all questions in detail.
Night and day from another provider (PP) I contacted.
Keep up the good work Acrovoice!!
 
#18 ·
Hey Nexus,
I'd really like to hear how things are going with your Acrovoice service. I run a home-based business and am looking to also looking to port my number through business VoIP. I would also require a line for my house number too. I'm just overwhelmed with the amount of companies out there. For my home office I am considering using business VoIP from Primus Business Services . A big company like Primus just seems more reliable.
I'm kinda leaning towards using Primus for home as well, because when I called customer service, they were very helpful, do you think this is a good idea for a home phone? What has your experience been so far?
Thanks!
Catherine
 
#19 ·
Help choosing VOIP provider.

We are considering switching from Bell Landline to VOIP for home phone. Location is West of Kingston K0H1G0.

I am sure many here use VOIP and cellphone instead of Bell landline. Our immediate need is for VOIP as a replacement for Bell, mainly because of cost and minimal use. We would like to keep our existing number.

We have non-smart paygo cell phones that could be used if internet goes off. When we travel, we have Skype and a condo phone plus a cell with free US LD. So probably no need for VOIP to travel with us.

I have looked at several offerings:

Magic Jack - well established but not able to port our existing number. About $25 plus $3/month.

Fongo - Was Dell Voice. $59 for adapter, $25 to xfer number, $15 shipping, $4.95/month, unlimited LD

YAK - (We have our LD with them). $25 for adapter, keep existing number, $4.75/month. 200min of LD/month +1.9c/min

Looks like YAK might suit our needs best?

Several others, but don't seem competitive with above:
http://www.gonevoip.ca/residential-voip/

YAK mentions a need to set up port forwarding - do all providers need this done? We are on Cogeco cable. Not so easy because our router uses non-standard DDWRT software so another learning process needed!

Anyone converted recently and compared cost vs features of VOIP offerings in Ontario?
 
#20 ·
CallCentric. Located in NYC but no problem porting (514) number. Pick a minimal use or industrial-sized plan. Lots of free features (forwarding, conditional forwarding, rejection etc.

http://www.callcentric.com/

You can find out right away if your number will port. Leave your current service active till you get official notice the port is done. Mine took 3 days, and once I got confirmation, I just had to call previous supplier to cancel service as calls were already coming though on CallCentric.

You HAVE to byob. I bought a cheapie Grandstream at Amazon. The Call Centric tech guide to setting it up was complete and flawless. Wherever that box goes in North America is where your home phone is. Family back home enjoy (514) local calls to me while I snowbird during the winter in (928).

Any tech issues solved within a few hours via trouble ticket over internet.

Been a customer for over 6 months. Number ported. Roughly 200 minutes per month of use. Rented another "local" number when I had classified ads running. Still haven't used up the first $50 I put into my account.
 
#21 ·
Thanks. I was just looking at Freephoneline.ca also with byob. Just concerned about getting it to work with my isp and 3rd party box.

Looked at OOMA as a higher up front cost, but low ongoing cost alternative.

I like the idea of taking unit south, but our condo only has wifi. Ooma has adapter for that at a price. But may be better to just use voice mail for incoming calls and we will call back.

Lot's of choices.
 
#23 ·
Wireless Access Points commonly available from Amazon for under $30. When looking at at calling costs, make sure "free" calling area includes US & Canada if you are a snowbird.

Callers will quickly tire of hitting voicemail all the time. Also, US friends you will have down south will not want to pay international long distance by dialing a Canadian number just to call a condo neighbour down the hall. Being able to rent a cheap DID (local number) for the amount of time you are down south makes a lot of sense.
 
#22 ·
Consider VOIP.MS.

I've been with them for 5 years and am very happy with the pay as you go cost (less than $3.00 per month) and their technical support which I needed when I first setup my system.

A lot of people use a combination of Freephoneline and VOIP.MS but VOIP.MS is cheap enough that I don't bother.
 
#24 · (Edited)
Phils :I have not spent much time looking at voip.ms although those that use it seem to like it. Seemed not exactly Plug & Play. I am computer savvy, but not so much on network stuff.

Buchrob: At present we unplug our phones when we head South, so voice mail that we can access while away would be a step forward ;)
Our rental Condo comes with phone and free US calling. Internet is only wifi (no modem to plug into). We pass our US condo number out to friends and family and we also have Skype which we use a lot, including here at home.

I had a look at Callcentric. Seems like they split incoming and calling services. To get unlimited incoming and 500min outgoing it would be $5.95/month plus either $0.00 or $6.95/month for outgoing plus per minutes charges that vary depending on which plan is chosen. So buy a box for say $50, then $5.95 or $12.90/month.

Question at present seems to be whether to go with a system that I must configure myself (Callcentric, Freephoneline, VOIP.ms and others) vs packaged systems like OOMA, Fongo, YAK, Magic Jack.

I suspect boxes provided with packaged systems are not easily switched to alternative system, so would be money wasted in that event. Self configured units can presumably be reconfigured.

Thanks for input. Slowly getting to understand pluses and minuses. Low cost is one thing, but reliability and service are others.
 
#31 ·
Phils :I have not spent much time looking at voip.ms although those that use it seem to like it. Seemed not exactly Plug & Play. I am computer savvy, but not so much on network stuff.
Actually, VOIP.MS has a lot of features so if you want to get fancy, it can get complicated. It sounds like your aptitude profile is similar to mine. I personally had a lot of issues getting it going initially as my router wasn't VOIP-friendly. I changed my router and it resolved all my issues. I suspect I would have had the same issues regardless of the provider.

The good part about VOIP.MS is that it is almost risk free to try it. The way I proceeded was:

1. I added $25 to my VOIP.MS account. (That is the minimum you need to start but unused amounts are refunded if you leave.)
2. I installed my VoIP adapter on my network. I have the PAPT2 which was the most popular adapter at that time. The Ooma has to be more user-friendly.
3. Basically, you do not need to have a phone number to make a call - only to receive. All I did was test outgoing calls at the $0.01 and at the $0.005 rate and was very impressed with the call quality at both rates - so I decided to stick to the cheaper rate. Everything was working great.
4. I ported my phone number from Bell. That is when I started having problems receiving calls which ultimately was tracked down to my router. Technically, it's much easier to dial out with VoIP than it is to receive as receiving requires the system to actually find you. When you dial out, there is no such limitation.
5. What I probably should have done was rent a phone number (DID) from VoIP.MS for $0.99 for my tests. That would have revealed my inbound call issue. Had I done that, I might not have gone to VoIP at all and in the end that would have ben a mistake as it's been great ever since.
6. Since I was committed at that point, I changed my router and finally solved my issues.

In summary, you are right. For me it wasn't plug and play because of my router but it would have come close if I had had a different router. The positives to come out of it is that VoIP.MS tech support proved to be excellent and I learned a lot.

One thing you could do to test call quality is to use a softphone on your PC or your cell phone as a VoIP client. I personally use the C-SIP Simple android app on my cell phone and that is as close to plug and play as it goes regardless of the provider. VoIP.MS is on the list of international providers in C-SIP Simple so all you do is select VoIP.MS, enter your user id and password and you're good to go. You can use it with a data plan on your cell phone, I personally only use it on WiFi. The cost will be the cost per minute for as many minutes that you use. It's a very cheap way to test and to learn.
 
#25 · (Edited)
Decided to go with OOMA - $89.99 on Black Friday sale on Amazon and at BestBuy where Bluetooth adapter is included (I couldn't see a need for it).

When I come to port number, OOMA wil no doubt deal direct with Bell. But one thing - we have LD service with YAK. Presumably they too use our Bell number. Once number is ported presumably YAK will need to know. Should I just call them once I get notice from OOMA that number has been ported? Or do I need to do something ahead of time?
 
#30 ·
Definitely call your other providers to confirm your cancellation, but ONLY when your new service is up and running. The standard number porting paperwork only says that you are authorizing the transfer of your current number to a new service.

When I switched from Vonage, customer service was completely unaware that my service was cancelled, even though calls were coming through on the new provider and the Vonage connection was dead.
 
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