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 Review by ExecPro 
Posted: 1.7 years ago
member for 7.4 years, 1804 visits, last login: a few hours ago
 Long Beach,Nassau,NY
 Business customer
 $47 per month
 "Price, BYOD"
 "None"
 "Great value, great for Asterisk Systems"
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I use a Trixbox CE system in my office with 3 Broadvoice lines that each can handle multiple calls. For the price it can't be beat for unlimited BYOD service. An A+!
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Review by snatale1
Posted: 1.7 years ago
member for 5.7 years, 20 visits, last login: 342 days ago
West Roxbury,Suffolk,MA
$14 per month
"Reliable & Cheap!"
"none yet!"
"I would recommend to anybody"
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I love this company, I originally had Vonage and couldn't stand it bad call quality, all tech support in india. I took a try with BV mostly because there based in my state, I figured if the were as bad as Vonage and gave me the run around there were close enough to go "talk to". Anyways I bought my own SIP device to get the lower rate (Linksys RT31P2) signed up thru there website and had dial-tone in under 10 minutes. Seemed to easy and was waiting daily for it to screw up...never did. I've had it for about a year now and had no problems and all and give me MANY more calling options and features than Vonage did. BTW when you call tech support they answer the phone and speak in english!!!!! OMG!!!!
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 Review by Angkor
UPDATED: 1.7 years ago
member for 9.1 years, 3218 visits, last login: 13 days ago
Stayton,Marion,OR
$11 per month
"BYOD for $5.95 per month is great"
"none"
"Good service at a great price"
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I purchased a Sipura 2002 through Voxilla. WHile they were out of stock and it took me a while to get it, I was up and running with Broadvoice within about 10 minutes. When you purchase through Voxilla you can get your first month free with no installation and they have a 100 minute a month plan for $5.95 which is what I signed up for. Using the provided configuration settings it took me no time at all to get up and running. I set QoS on my Linksys WRT54G for the port that the Sipura was attached to and since then have had no issues.
I must say that increases in price have ot improved my satisfaction, but it has now been several years and I am still pretty happy about the service.
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Review by TheInformer
UPDATED: 1.8 years ago
member for 1.8 years, 0 visits, last login: 1.8 years ago
undisclosed location
Contract price not specified.
"Superb customer support, value, web site controls."
"none worth mentioning."
"I switched from Vonage 6 mo ago. Couldn't be happier."
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I was with Vonage for 2 years, but I left a while ago for several reasons, including poor customer service, their likely downfall due to massive debt, and the fact that they locked their router and wouldn't let me use my own softphone unless I paid extra.
Broadvoice has none of these issues (although they're a privately held entity, so I really can't tell what their financials look like). I can tell you that their customer support is absolutely fantastic. It's nice that I don't need to learn Hindi. If you don't mind the New England accent, then your home free! I called their support today, just to ask a question, and got through to a real person on the second ring. No hold message, no "press 1 for this, 2 for that". In fairness, it's not always that way. There are times when I've had to wait for 20 minutes, but on the infrequent occasions I've called, the service has always been stellar. Based on my conversations with them, they have a small but knowledgeable staff that has been there for a long time. I've never had to have a call escalated, and they've gone above and beyond my expectations each time.
They let you use whatever device or software you like, and they give you the passwords and configuration - at no additional charge. They provide a URL for a free softphone application. They don't lock their devices, either, so your investment is safe. If you ever leave, you can take your router/phone with you and use it on another provider's network. This was not the case at the V. They didn't care if you bought it, they wouldn't unlock it for you when you left. What a joke.
As far as the setup, the router worked right out of the box. I did have to do some tweaking to get the softphone to work, and there was some minor fine-tuning done on both the router and the softphone configuration in the beginning to optimize things. Since then, it's been fine.
Broadvoice's website has some really nice features that were not available at the V. One thing I really like is the ability to selectively forward incoming calls based on the inbound number. I am now forwarding numbers from telemarketers to a bogus number that will always play "call cannot be completed"... It works and it's great. Between that and the do-not-call list, I rarely get telemarketing calls.
The call quality is very good, but on rare occasions there can be degradation due to network issues. You have to expect this in the world of VoIP, though. Overall, using their router, I would rate their call quality to be about the same as the V. The audio quality on the softphone is perfect - like being there. NOTE: If you are going to use a soft phone, then invest in a GOOD headset. The cheap ones really suck.
Two things...first, you can't use the router and the softphone at the same time. It will mess up their system. When I use the softphone, I unplug the router. Second, if you don't configure the e911 service, and you make a 911 call on their network, you may be charged $100. Except in rare instances where you have another line, you're probably going to want e911 anyway, and you're paying for it regardless.
As far as reliability, no complaints. I think it was down for a short time once. At least as good as with the V.
Regarding the value for the money, they are about the least expensive out there in terms of the established VoIP providers. I am paying less than I was and getting a lot more. Love it.
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 Review by Dude
UPDATED: 1.9 years ago
member for 9 years, 2135 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Chicago,Cook,IL
$16 per month (12 month contract)
 about 2 days
"Cheap Price of $9.95 for unlimited instate calls and unlimited incoming"
"It's VoIP, It's never going to be 100% reliable"
"Awesome for my work at home line."
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You can shut all of your features or turn them on as you choose. Plus I didn't have to pay ATT $138 to come out and install a second phone line. I notice no difference in call quality whatsoever and I like to tinker, so I am talking while doing speed tests to stress test it. I have to say I am happy with the service so far and will update accordingly.
12/14/2007 Update
Its working I am having no problems with it. I would highly recommend it.
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Review by mapu
UPDATED: 1.9 years ago
member for 7.3 years, 1843 visits, last login: 220 days ago
Florence,Hampshire,MA
$32 per month
"Reliable, good voice quality, easy to install"
"Call manager is Windows centric"
"I recommend Broadvoice to friends and relatives"
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I have had Broadvoice for several years, after first having Vonage. I switched to Broadvoice as their plan included more features and more countries that fell under free calling at the same price point.
Earlier in my BV usage, reliability and dropped calls were an issue (to be fair- they were an issue with Vonage as well), however, we have had very few problems in the last 1 1/2 yrs. It has become so reliable that we decided to drop our Verizon landline and just go with BV and our cell phones.
So far, we have had one Sipura device die (was replaced with next day service- but we are within 2 hrs of BV headquarters- so that may have impacted the delivery time). We have also ported our phone number which went qucikly and smoothly. Additionally- while my parents were in the process of moving, they got BV and ported their number without incident as well.
The few times I have had to call tech support, I have had quick response- either live answer, or quick call back when leaving a message.
My one gripe is that the website is a bit boring- I'd like to see it jazzed up a bit- give me a reason to keep going back to the site. I also would like the ability to listen to voicemail online using my Linux desktop. There is some pretty good integration with Outlook, and I'm probably in the minority of their customers- but it would still be nice.
Overall, I think Broadvoice is a great value, the quality has tremendously improved, and it provides a reliable service.
(In the interest of full disclosure, I must say that I have worked with several of the tech and executive folks in previous companies prior to Broadvoice- however they also know that I would state anything negative here as well. I do not work for or with them now.)
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Review by jabetcha
UPDATED: 1.9 years ago
member for 6.7 years, 996 visits, last login: 3 days ago
Lake Mary,Seminole,FL
$25 per month
"BYOD plan with no up-front costs and no contracts!"
"Occasional call quality issues"
"Solid performance and good value"
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I have been using VOIP since the first Cisco ATA 186 hit the market (2001), and I am still using it today!
I first use IConnectHere, as they were the first to provide a local number in my area and a very low-priced calling plan at $5.95/mo, which only included incoming and toll-free calling. Their service was very poor and required lots of bandwidth since they used uncompressed audio. I dropped their service for FWD once ICH discontinued their $5.95 plan and obtained a free phone number from IPKall.
FWD's service quality was excellent. Much of that time, FWD allowed toll-free calling, but I was unable to make FWD-to-PSTN calls. As my calling needs grew, and I began a business out of my home, I found BroadVoice. They allowed me to keep my existing device, pay only a small sign-up fee, and had a business plan with competitive rates. Nearly all other providers in 2005 listed their service for "residential only"
I was immediately impressed how quickly my account was provisioned and I was able to begin making calls. Their web-portal provided every conceivable feature I could ever want from a telephone.
I have been using their service for 2 years, I have added an additional phone number for receiving faxes (it works about 90% of the time, even though they don't claim to support it). I have had to call customer service 3 or 4 times, each time my experience has been very positive and the tech was knowledgeable and resolved my issue quickly and on the first try. Only once did I even have to wait on hold for a support representative and it was less than 1 minute.
They introduced E911 service last year, and it was very easy to configure. Thankfully I have not had a need to call 911, I am glad the service is now available.
Since this service is dependent upon a working internet connection in the event of a power loss, I'd recommend that all your network equipment (Modem, router, switches, hubs, ATA, and telephones) be powered by a UPS.
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Review by sibyl9
Posted: 1.9 years ago
member for 3 years, 39 visits, last login: 3 days ago
Easton,Fairfield,CT
$20 per month
"Responsive and intelligent customer service."
"None so far."
"Good experience, helpful, very good call quality"
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Don't read too much in to the "Very Good' call quality. I'd mark all VOIP as that. For 90% of the time, it is the same as Landline. Then sometimes the microwave will interfere, or you need to hang up and call again. Overall, it works well. First off, the customer support is not outsourced or they don't sound like it. They sound like they report to work at the company and the follow through on issues is surprisingly good. Most of us need some help in the initial stages, then it just runs. Companies that don't plan to offer that initial support, or park you in long phone queues and hand you to staff reading scripts make you appreciate the opposite. I do most of my support via email - I go to the site, report an issue and work the issue through email. Broadvoice was stellar in this respect. I had useful answers within hours. They also got my home phone number back from the Sunrocket crash as they understood how to do it and were willing to make the effort. I appreciated that after spending 2 months with Callvantage and getting the run around over not trying to port my number.
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Review by matthias8
Posted: 2 years ago
member for 8.9 years, 31 visits, last login: 300 days ago
San Bruno,San Mateo,CA
$29 per month (month by month)
"it (mostly) just works"
"occasionally. rarely, it doesn't"
"A reasonably competent provider"
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We have had Broadvoice for a little over a year, now. And while there are some rough spots, I would rate them quite a bit higher than their current ranking would let on.
But first, the negatives. the most trying time with Broadvoice, was the initial installation. I had tested their service for a month or so, using the phone number they provided. The call quality during that time seemed reasonable, even though, rarely, people on the other end did notice slight delays, or voice distortions. So after that trial period, we transferred our PacBell/SBC/AT&T phone number over to Broadvoice. Immediately, we were in trouble. Due to some misconfiguration at their end all our incoming calls got lost for a whole week. Anyone calling us heard a message that "this number has been disconnected, or is no longer in service". Obviously we were unhappy. The Broadvoice service reps claimed that this was a problem with local phone service provider, that a service ticket had been filed, and that I would need to be patient. But it's hard to be patient, if you know that you are losing important calls every day, and your friends and business associates get the impression that your phone must have been disconnected. Broadvoice did not seem bothered by any of this. After one week, I told them that I would keep calling them daily, raising all sorts of hell, until my problems were fixed, and that surely the $10-30 per month they were receiving from me did not cover the expense of fielding my calls. They relented, and escalated and fixed the problem. At that time, had I been confident that I could have kept my phone number, I would have left Broadvoice. But I wasn't, and so I didn't.
After the initial set-up, I still suffered frequent loss of voice connectivity, setting off another round of calls to customer support. The solution was to change the set-up of my home connectivity, in essence placing the Broadvoice adapter (a Sipura SPA-2100) upstream from my router, and using Broadvoice supplied DNS servers. This was painful, because it significantly degrades my internet connection speed, compared to my initial set-up. But despite best efforts, I just could not get my router to stop interfering with the traffic between Broadvoice and the phone adapter.
This was a year ago. Since then, it works. There are a few small niggles: A few months ago, the phone would ring, but upon picking up, we could not hear the caller. Or we would make a call, but the person we called couldn't hear us. At that time, it took only one call to customer support to get the issue permanently resolved (supposedly a firmware issue). A few weeks ago, I had to try several times to get an outbound connection to Germany; every time I tried, I would get a message in Spanish (why?) telling me that the lines are all busy. Occasionally, our cordless phone's built-in phone book won't work, or it doesn't pick up a ringtone, when it's turned on. We are not sure, if this is due to our aging phone, or some incompatibilities. In any case, the problem is always remedied by hanging up, and trying again. No big deal, there.
As far as the call quality is concerned, I think it is very good, now.As good or better than landlines, even on overseas calls. Also, since my last call to customer service, the reliability has been excellent excellent. As far as features are concerned, I think they are at least on par with everyone else, and their web site provides full functionality, though it is not particularly flashy.
After some really rough times with Broadvoice, their service has really improved for me. I don't know, if this was simply a matter of working out all the flaws in my initial configuration, or if they have improved materially. But now, unlike in the early days, I don't worry about missing calls, or not being able to make calls, when I need to. At the price I pay, I am not complaining
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Review by bgs7b6
Posted: 2.1 years ago
member for 2.2 years, 48 visits, last login: 143 days ago
Columbia,Boone,MO
Business customer
$39 per month (12 month contract)
about 2 days
"price, lots of features"
"corporate unreliability"
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I've been a Business user for 3 months. I originally wanted AT&T Callvantage (after reading almost wholly positive reviews), but I could not establish a new number in my area nor port an existing number (they claimed E911 incompatibility). I've only had 2 problems. Once, my voicemail was wiped out. VERY bad for a small business. I got wise and had Call Notifications and Voicemail Messages (.wav) emailed to me so that I always have a local copy. The only other problem that I have experienced is my own fault for having a shared internet connection that does not recognize and give priority to voice packets, so I'm relegated to making calls before 10am and after 6pm when the 'net quiets down. Wait times for calls to tech support are predictable (5 minutes to 30 minutes); emails are answered within 24 hours. Otherwise, features are great (especially the ease of porting numbers in, acquiring a toll-free number, and BYOD), quality is great, and would recommend for residences and businesses looking to cut communication costs.
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