 Review by djrobx 
UPDATED: 1.3 years ago
member for 9.4 years, 4597 visits, last login: a few hours ago
 Valencia,Los Angeles,CA
 $24 per month
 about 9 days
 "Works perfectly. Even fax and 56k dialup connections!"
 "Probably not as good in emergency situations"
 "Finally, A good value in high quality phone."
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(ratings match consensus)
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6/28/08
Due to TW dragging their feet on HDTV upgrades, I've decided to try U-verse, and TW's VOIP is just way way too pricey when not bundled with both TV and internet. They could also stand to include voicemail in the price, and add some higher end features. All that said, this phone service was just as reliable and clean as my POTS. No QoS/internet routing headaches.
Original Review:
I switched to Road Runner from DSLExtreme and have been quite pleased with the increased performance. Given that I'm going to stick with cable, I figured I'd look into my VOIP options.
We aren't heavy phone users by any means. But out of the few calls I make, they seem to be just outside of what SBC/AT&T considers a local phone call. Plus, I am a stickler for Caller ID and Call Waiting ID. I will not take a call unless I know who it is. The calls I do make, I need them to be high in quality. I walk people through computer stuff all the time, and that demands a clean, clear, problem free line. Though I don't use it much, those needs result in a bill that is just too high from SBC/AT&T. I have cell service here but it's too marginal to go cell only.
I considered Vonage or SunRocket, but I really don't need unlimited national calling. I also tend to be a heavy data user and having used plenty of Internet VOIP based products in the past, I know the sorts of nonsense that can happen if QoS isn't set up properly. Plus, news about Verizon's lawsuit against Vonage got me worried and I didn't want to trust my important communications to a relatively unknown outfit like Sunrocket. Boy I'm glad I went with my gut.
Time Warner's California Unlimited phone product suits me PERFECTLY. After multi-product discounts, it's $25 per month.
I ported my number. The installation was painless as can be. The day of the installation, when the installer arrived, my AT&T landline was taking calls. By the time he left, my new Digital Phone service was taking them. He replaced my Ambit modem with an Arris Touchstone modem.
Today I needed to fax something out, so I dug up a 56k modem and got it hooked up. Could TW's voip handle faxing? It went out without a hitch! For kicks I tried dialing up Earthlink and got a solid 50k connection. Hell this is better than the POTS line I got from Pacific Bell that could barely hold a 28.8 connection!
About the only thing I can really nitpick at is the price. I think $19/month would be the sweet spot for this. Aside from that it's been wonderful in every respect. Used it for over a month now without the slightest oddity or hint that I'm using anything less than a real telephone line. Not a dropped call. Not a garbled voice to another landline. Happy!
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