 nozzer
join:2004-06-25
Waltham, MA | Minutes rather than revenue? I wonder what share of the total minutes though? | |
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cooperaaaron
join:2004-04-10
Rockford, IL | I am one... of those users !:D | |
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UnionJax
join:2002-09-25
Richmond, IN | Vonage User I love Vonage, so cheap, and so many features that I didn't have with Verizon. Even had to call 911 two nights ago and got straight through with no hassle. | |
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 | t3freak
join:2004-04-11
New Port Richey, FL | Re: Vonage User Vonage is the way baby...! | |
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refreshme
@optonline.net
| Re: Bells when was the last time that vonage employee came to your house to make whole house wiring or even disco cables from main line?Oh wait. They don't do that. You are on your own. I understand that some BBR readers know enough to do it on their own, but 95% of others don't. So if you count it all in perspective, you can't get much with vonage and all of their features pale in comparison to simple old line. TW will at least rewire your house. Vonage won't. try to reach vonage tech and if you spend less than 1 hour, you are lucky. I agree VOIP is the way of the future, but it is not the way with companies like Vonage. When Bells enter VOIP with full force, then it will be that way it is supposed to be. My view of voip is close to one offered by cableco where voip replaces traditional line not one by vonage where you must run multiple splitters to connect all phones in your house. | |
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DreamWraith
Premium
join:2004-04-07
Mount Vernon, WA
 ·Comcast
| are you a VOIP user? you sure dont seem like it, you make it out to be a hundred times more complicated than it is. my mother, who can barely use a mouse was able to set up her own VOIP. Oh, and did i mention it took five minutes to hook it into the existing house wiring, withou using any splitter? | |
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hayabusa3303
Over 200 mph
Premium
join:2005-06-29
clubs:
edit:
August 20th, @11:50AM
| Re: Bells i have two vonage lines hard wired into the house. If you can read i am using a PAP2 so i think thats voip last time i checked.
Edit myself: only if your talking about my last post does this apply..lol | |
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DreamWraith
Premium
join:2004-04-07
Mount Vernon, WA | Re: Bells i wasnt replying to you actually. must have been some weird forum glitch, where you posted right before me. was replying to the person above you. | |
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hayabusa3303
Over 200 mph
Premium
join:2005-06-29
clubs: | Re: Bells It does happen why i put my edit in there. I was confused!!its all good. | |
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| | rradina
join:2000-08-08
Chesterfield, MO
·Charter Pipeline
| said by refreshme:
When Bells enter VOIP with full force, then it will be that way it is supposed to be. What way would that be? Overpriced? Less features? Pay a fee for every phone/VOIP router?
What's even harder to believe is that you believe the bells need to enter the VOIP landscape at all. The bells don't need a different transport to provide the same service. They have a great network that isn't built around VOIP but they charge too damn much for it.
Right now they could restructure, drop the price of their existing analog service and drive VOIP from the market. I can't think of any good reason why the incumbent LECs cannot offer $19.95/month telephone service with free long distance and every bell-and-whistle feature. Why would anyone bother with VOIP? It's less reliable. It goes out when your Internet connection goes out. 911 might work. Why would I want VOIP if I could get a better service for the same money from the ILECs?
I also think 95% don't know how to hook it up is more like 25% who don't know. As older, less technological savvy generations pass, that number will eventually dwindle to 2%.
What's really changed about the standard HTTP browser in the past 10 years? Is it easier today than it was then or have people adapted? (There's certainly more risk today but have we really changed the "http://www.xyz.com" address format and how it all works?) I think most folks have adapted just like they'll adapt to the wiring difficulties of VOIP. | |
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| | | Kizaki
join:2000-05-19
Fort Myers, FL
| Re: Bells The problem is the taxes the government forces people to pay when using this line. Its all politically annoying, but what are you going to do. From what I understand so far, by using VOIP they can doge these taxes. Thank the politicians not the phone companies | |
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realist
@ca.frontier
| "I can't think of any good reason why the incumbent LECs cannot offer $19.95/month telephone service with free long distance and every bell-and-whistle feature."
The large telco employees are unionized. Their average annual salary at the top end is $55000 + benefits. That's one reason why your telephone service is more expensive than you'd like. Deal with it "for the good of the whole" unless you like Wal-Mart like prices and wages. | |
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| | | | rradina
join:2000-08-08
Chesterfield, MO
·Charter Pipeline
| Re: Bells *Sniff* *Sniff* I thought I smelled a socialist.
Until the socialist take total control of this country, that's an awful niave view. What stopped Wal*Mart? What will stop VOIP?
I don't think the average salary of the Bell worker is the problem. The problem stems from the fact that there's TOO MANY of these folks for the true work load. I'm not suggesting 60 hour work weeks. I'm suggesting the average employee probably doesn't work efficiently because of poor leadership. | |
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realist
@ca.frontier
| Re: Bells I've noticed this site has so many liberals. My point was:
The very same liberals who want dirt cheap broadband and dialtone are also the very same ones who complain about wages and benefits. There is a direct correlation between product pricing and employee wages and benefits.
BTW: According to some of the Bell workers I've talked to (specifically SBC) they claim management has them running with the bare minimum headcount nowadays. | |
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| | | | | rradina
join:2000-08-08
Chesterfield, MO
·Charter Pipeline
| Does this mean that $14.95/month DSL is being funded with POTS revenue?
Something has to be wrong when SBC charged me $50/month (including taxes/fees/regulations) for a POTS line with no features and no long distance. The only plus was it was a metro calling number so that I could dial most STL folks on the MO side of the Mississippi River for free. If I get in my car and drive three miles east, the price drops to ~$40. If I continue driving, folks in the actual city of STL pay even less. I call this rotten. Dirty, stinking and rotten.
I don't deny anyone a fair wage, with benefits. I don't think $50G/year will break any company that's efficient, well managed and that builds an employee base that feels they have a stake in the success of the company. | |
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mckenna797
join:2004-08-25
Astoria, NY | i am a time warner digital Phone subscriber since March an i am a very happy camper | |
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| | nozzer
join:2004-06-25
Waltham, MA | 1. Call up previous "supplier" (bell company or cableco) and tell them to come over and completely disconnect their shit.
2. Connect VOIP box to unused wall jack with phone cord.
Just how freaking hard is that exactly? | |
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| | KSC519
join:2002-03-14
Chicago, IL
 ·Lightning Bolt DSL
 ·Vonage
| Even your average, bottom-of-the barrel user can handle plugging in a cable, all you have to do is run a line to the input on the phone box outside, its REALLY simple. Now, if you're just lazy, you can hire any neghborhood kid with a little technical knowledge to do it for you. Vonage, in my opinion, is one of the best offerings out there, their combination of pricing and features blows any standard land line away. And VOIP, like most technical things, is not for everyone. My opinion is that if you're unwilling to take a little initiative, you shouldn't use a certain product. (People who can't change tires shouldn't drive, people who can't understand basic internet security should not be online, and so on) | |
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kdandaoc
join:2003-10-13
608052427
| bait and switch Any improvement you see to phne service or to your bill will only be mitigated in the long run once the carrier becomes a major player. This happens time and time again, so enjoy while you can; before the outtages come, the taxman arrives, or you have to call your indian or pakistani technician | |
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DaDogs
Semper Vigilantis
Premium
join:2004-02-28
Deltaville, VA
edit:
August 20th, @12:29PM
| ... and the 400+ percent growth rate terrifies ... the baby bells.
2004 = 440,000
2005 = 2,700,000
2006 = 16,560,000
2008 = 101,000,000
Admittedly it won't continue at that rate but at even one sixth of that rate they are scared sheitless.
Kinda explains their agressive behaviours of late, doesn't it?
... and you thought Vonage outages had nothing to do with industrial espionage ...
--
Improve your wireless signal! | |
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BeechDog
@comcast.net | A silly question.... for all you bellco shills out there.
If Sun Rocket set up a gas station and started selling gasoline for 25¢ a gallon, would YOU still buy that $3/gallon stuff from the ILEC stations? | |
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| gonenuts1579
join:2003-06-12
Malone, NY
| Time Warner With Time Warner being second in subscribers, it just shows there is a sucker born every minute. Who in their right mind would choose Time Warner? It's overpriced, and lacks features. Woohoo, it comes with a battery backup.... I'll stick with Callvantage, a perfect balance of price, features, and reliability. | |
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| | bsddaemon
join:2001-12-22
Dayton, OH | Re: Time Warner Time Warner is not true VOIP is it. They came and installed it in my friends house and he needed to have a regular phone jack in the wall. | |
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| | | | hottboiinnc
ME
join:2003-10-15
Toledo, OH
·buckeye cable
| Re: Time Warner RR and TWC Digital phone does not share the same bandwidth. Digital Phone doesn't even touch the Internet. It stays on its own network. Its called built in QoS.
And as for having a phone jack in your home its to give your whole house access to the digital phone by using a standard phone jack and phones.
I've lost service to RoadRunner and kept Phone service due to the seperate services. Also I've lost both services at the same time due to a network issue in the city 2 days ago but several people in my city did that I know who have one or both of the services. | |
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| | | | | radarman
join:2005-06-01
Odenton, MD
| Re: Time Warner Ok, true QoS and out-of-band traffic make it attractive. Other than that, I can do the same thing now. None of my internal lines touch the external telephone network (I have a patch panel, so I could reconnect - but at the moment, I'm totally disconnected).
I plug my ATA into any phone jack in the house, and voila' - I can use any OTHER phone in the house with that line. What is so hard about that? | |
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| | | | | | hottboiinnc
ME
join:2003-10-15
Toledo, OH
·buckeye cable
| Re: Time Warner its not hard. I'm just saying that the TWC Digital phone isn't a VoIP service. Its an internal network that goes from you to the PSTN using their network for the last mile to the customer. Nothing touches the Internet and nothing touches each other--RR and Digi Phone.
But also you don't need to have a phone jack. My digital phone isnt connected to a phone jack. Just a phone to the modem/mta and then a cat5 to the computer. | |
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| | dibbb
join:2003-09-19 | I would bet you anything that my TWC digital phone sounds 100% better than your call vantage.
I know it's more expensive, but to me the quality and uptime is worth it. | |
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| | | gonenuts1579
join:2003-06-12
Malone, NY
| Re: Time Warner Nope, Callvantage sounds better than my POTS line did, and the only time I've ever had a problem with it being down is when Time Warners network was done. I couldn't be any happier with Callvantage, and I've got more features, and a smaller dent in my wallet than you do. | |
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| | | | dibbb
join:2003-09-19
edit:
August 23rd, @12:03AM
| Re: Time Warner . | |
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Pz_
join:2001-03-31
Brownsburg, IN
clubs: | Re: A silly question.... It would be sweet if someone came up with an alternative liquid fuel that was not based off oil, that would work in all existing vehicles. Maybe sell if for $1.00 a gallon.
(sigh) | |
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| | | Roop
join:2003-11-15
Ottawa, ON
·Internet Telephone..
| Re: A silly question.... i think that in the very near future gas prices will drop significantly and we will all start driving muscle cars again.
why do i say this? chrysler i launching a 2006 model 300 with a 6L V8 at 19mpg HIGHWAY. cadillac is launching a 400HP corvette engine in their CTS-V. chevy is putting superchargers on their impala, the new cobalt, monte carlo and probably a bunch more. i don't know what ford is doing but i'm guessing it will be able to compete with DC and GM.
i'm going to venture a guess that if the car companies are making stupidly powerful engines that guzzle gas, then they know something that we don't and gas prices will drop.
if the prices continue this way, they will have wasted huge somes of money and the country's automotive industry will be in shambles as no one is going to buy a full sized sedan that only does 19mpg on the highway, let alone the other gas guzzlers. | |
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| | | | cfarm
join:2005-08-12
Byron, CA | Re: A silly question.... If you haven't noticed, GM is in dire straights right now, while Toyota can't bang out Hybrids fast enough to suit the demand.
Draw your own conclusions. | |
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wwdubbia
join:2002-06-03
Clinton, NY
| Re: A silly question.... said by cfarm  :If you haven't noticed, GM is in dire straights right now, while Toyota can't bang out Hybrids fast enough to suit the demand. Draw your own conclusions. they are? I thought that GM Employee program saved their behinds? Weren't they up like 40% last quarter?
--
vertiblog.com | |
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| | | | | | radarman
join:2005-06-01
Odenton, MD
| Re: A silly question.... That "employee discount" was the biggest scam I've ever seen in the auto industry. It was so good a scam, that nearly every other dealer in the state (I live in Maryland) followed suit. Crap - even the BMW dealers were pulling that stunt for a while.
The fact is, even with "employee pricing", they are still making a profit. In fact, in some cases, they make more profit because they require you to finance through them to get the deal. I've seen the numbers on some of these deals, and these guys are making out like bandits.
One of the best sales gimmicks ever. It even drove the used car prices down for everyone else - because there is such a glut at the moment. | |
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wwdubbia
join:2002-06-03
Clinton, NY
| Re: I would consider VOIP but.... I think those numbers have to be skewed.
Think about all of the revenue that the POTS providers have lost simply by the minutes and reciprical compensation that those VOIP users would have generated.
They have to have lost a relatively large amount of that revenue they say VOIP is taking less than 1 percent of.
--
vertiblog.com | |
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| radarman
join:2005-06-01
Odenton, MD
| Um, how would you know if your phone line died if you weren't using it? POTS outages aren't unheard of - just fairly rare.
I admit, POTS does have an advantage during an outage, which is why I keep a cheap, metered-rate Verizon line for emergencies, but not enough for me to use one as my primary phone.
I pay $27 for my unlimited Vonage account, and $14 (for a $6 line!) AFTER TAXES, for essentially all the benefits of both worlds. That's it - my phone bill, long distance et al, is $41 a month - and my wife uses a LOT of long distance.
Nope - I can't AFFORD to go back to pure POTS. | |
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2.7 Million VoIP Users
:D:D:D
I would consider VOIP but....