Review by Technetium 
UPDATED: 55 days ago
member for 272 days, 2 visits, last login: 55 days ago
 Butler,Morris,NJ
 $35 per month
 about 2 days
 "Reliability, Price"
 "Outbound CID doesn't show name"
 "Suits my needs well"
| Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:
(ratings above consensus)
|
I have a Vonage line for personal use, but wanted to avoid shelling out $50 monthly for my startup business so decided to try BV. I've been using them since Jan, 2008 now.
They promptly sent out a Linksys SPA2102-R, which has 1 ethernet port and 2 phone ports. It's small and lightweight, measuring 4"square and 1.5"thick, not taking up much desk space at all.
I don't make or receive a huge amount of calls, but inbound and outbound quality has always been good, and reliability has been 100% so far.
The feature list is pretty full, with simultaneous ring on several phones, call hold, call transfer, of course CID and call waiting, as well as a few phone number specific things. For example, I can block individual numbers from calling in, give numbers a distinctive ring, or have numbers be forwarded to different phones.
I haven't tested or used most of thee features, but it is a longer list than I have with V.
One BIG issue for me, as a business user, is that it doesn't show my company name (or any name) on outbound CID. The people I call just see the city and state I'm calling from, which is how many cell phones appear.
My business is a one man show, and I can't help feeling that it occasionally makes a bad impression that customers think I'm using a mobile phone as a business line.
I did call them to ask about this. They answered quickly, but basically told me that that's just the way it is, and there are no intentions to change it that they know of.
It cost me $90.42 to get started, that includes the first month of service.
The listed cost for the unlimited business plan is $29.99, then they add $5.47 in fees:
$2.50 Regulatory Recovery Fee
$1.00 Emergency 911 Cost Recovery Fee
$1.97 Universal Service Fee
I'm not crazy about fees, but Vonage charges me 17% more in extra fees than this on a personal line, so I can't complain.
I can also say that over 10 months of use, the price hasn't gone up at all yet.
Overall, definitely a good value. Do be aware that you won't have outbound CID name if you use them though.
Followup comments: | Forums » comments on review of BroadVoice |
|
BroadVoice
