+ Larger Font | - Smaller Font

Unlimited calling for $8.95 a month

Before I begin, a warning. High speed access to the Internet has given rise to many VOIP companies, which provide telephone service over the Internet. Calls do NOT go through your computer. They go from a regular phone to a box which plugs into a cable router. It does not interfere with your Internet connection. You can still surf the web and download while talking on the phone. The quality of this service depends upon many things including your connection, their equipment, their servers, congestion on the Net, etc. So results can vary from call to call. (Incidentally, because of the poor quality of regular phone service in my area, VOIP in many instances was actually better).

You can keep your existing phone numbers (a process called transferring or porting) or get new ones and you can get virtual numbers with each line. A virtual number is a US phone number in any area code which rings your phone. So if you live in the 718 area code and have relatives in 213, you can get a virtual number with a 213 area code and you are now a local call to those relatives! But it gets better. You can be a local call to people living in other countries! You can take the box with you, plug it into any high speed Internet connection almost anywhere in the world, and your US phone number will work there. Friends have taken these to Israel and we were able to talk to each other for free!

You also get voicemail, caller ID, call waiting, 3 way calling, call forwarding, caller ID blocking, and on line account management as part of the deal.

No contracts. No software required.

What about sound quality? Years ago, bad weather had damaged our phone lines and Verizon seemed to be unable to correct the problem for weeks. With our regular phone system, we had constant disconnects, crossed lines and terrible static. It became impossible to connect to the Internet via modem. So I ordered cable Internet and put this system to the ultimate test. I plugged it in and swapped it for our regular phone without telling members of my family and particularly my wife, who spends several hours a day on the phone calling Canada and Israel. After a while, I asked her if she had noticed any difference. She had. The calls were clearer and there were fewer disconnects. But over time, first one service then the next began to deteriorate and the difference was noticeable, which is why we switched providers.

Several years ago I tried a company called Packet8. They were very good at first but then, possibly because they signed up too many people, service declined. I then switched to a company called Sunrocket which also started off good for about a year but then declined precipitously. So I switched to another service called Bbtelsys.com, which had an even better deal. Currently, I have two lines with Bbtelsys which are finally working after a great deal of trial-and-error, which was not entirely their fault. My third line is a saga in itself.

First, I tried Bbtelsys. They were unable to port my third number after FIVE MONTHS. Another friend is waiting over six months for his number to port. I got the distinct impression that the operators I spoke to were trained to mouth platitudes and had no interest in actually solving a problem. I was promised call backs which never happened, and to be e-mailed the status of the port, which never happened. I was told repeatedly they were "expediting" things, as if the word "expedite" had magical connotations. Sorry, but five months is not my definition of "expediting." When I cancelled the service at THEIR RECOMMENDATION, they wouldn't refund my money. Fortunately, my credit card company was able to charge it back.

I switched to Verizon and the port took ONE DAY. But Verizon's best deal was $35 a month and didn't offer the same features. Then Sunrocket e-mailed me with a great deal and I signed up for a year for $99. They ported my number in only two weeks. Then they went into bankruptcy. Since I had only been with them a few weeks, there was no problem charging it back. So I changed providers again.

I did a lot of checking the net, not just for the lowest price but also for the company which provides decent and HONEST service. I read many reviews. There are companies offering "cheap" service, but then tack on a whole bunch of additional fees. Some offer "full" refunds, but only of the actual phone service - not the activation, shipping, handling, etc. Some companies have racked up numerous complaints for poor service, deceptive advertising and "gotchas." So do your research.

I spent a week looking into available VOIP services and reading not just the details of the plans, but reviews from actual users who had been with the service for some time. Some of the "top-rated" services actually had many complaints. This could be because they grew too large too fast and couldn't support their user base. I first narrowed down my list to a few which got ratings in the 80% and better (at least 4 out of five reviews were positive). This is because I know as a vendor myself that most people only post to complain. People who are happy very often dont bother to post. Also, some people can never get things right and always blame the vendor for their own failings. They may have a slow internet connection or some other problem which interferes with the service. So an 80% success rate is pretty good.

After narrowing down the list, I then called each company the day after Sunrocket announced it was closing. I knew this would be a busy day for many VOIP providers as about 100,000 Sunrocket customers all tried to find another service. Most places never answered the phone. A recording at Viatalk told me I was caller 83 on hold. But Joiphone had a live support person on the phone within two minutes. After discussing options with them, I settled on a plan, but when I went to sign up, I couldn't find that specific plan. I called back and was talking to a support person within 5 minutes who helped me find the correct link. Later I called again and was talking to support within a minute. This is amazing considering they were being swamped with calls that day. I hope this indicates the kind of service I can expect in the future, should I need it. I ordered the service on Tuesday and received the equipment on Wednesday. I plugged it in and was up and running within 5 minutes. A friend placed an order with ViaTalk and it took over a week for the equipment to arrive.

Joiphone does have one of the lowest prices in the industry, currently 4.95 a month for a phone line with unlimited incoming calls and 100 outgoing minutes a month, 8.95 for unlimited calling and 14.95 for 2 unlimited outgoing lines using the links below. They have also added free calling to many foreign destinations and the lowest rates to others. They also have unlimited foreign calling plans. Since these plans change and there are often unadvertised specials, I would suggest you email me before signing up, since I get their specials emailed to me. When you get to their site, you may see that the advertised prices are higher than the link showed. You may have enter a promo code to get the discount. It is p07895 (that's zero not o) for the 8.95 unlimited line and p07495 for the limited 4.95 line. If you are asked for the email of the referrer, please enter joi@ygoodman.com. You should receive a $15 credit toward future bills or additional services (like international long distance calls). In the interest of full disclosure, I also get a $15 credit, but I could have made a similar deal with other vendors. I chose Joiphone because that's who I use.

Via-talk appears to be cheaper on a 2-year plan, but I couldn't get through to support by phone and they didn't answer emails. My one friend who signed up with them said service is acceptable but he sometimes has to dial several times before the call goes through. Occasionally it's hard to hear the other person and the call has to be re-tried. Via-talk has not responded to his calls or emails. Their reviews were very mixed to say the least click for reviews. It also appears from customer comments that they add monthly charges on top of the 2-year rate they collect in advance. So at the moment, Joiphone appears to beat the others on value, after weighing both cost and service.

Service	Cost
Joiphone	8.95 monthly with an annual contract. total costs for first year, including equipment, shipping, activation and taxes: $170, plus $15 credit toward your next bill
Packet8	$199 annual. total costs for first year including activation but NOT including taxes or shipping: estimate $229
Lingo	$22 a month with annual plan, plus shipping, activation and possible additional monthly fees.
Vonics	$19 for 6 months, $25 afterward with annual plan. first 2 months free.
Via-Talk	$199 annual contract for 2 phone lines, plus $40 shipping, plus some additional taxes. Warning: read customer reviews on this company first! reviews. Even though they appear to be the lowest pricewise, I decided to stay away from them.