Sep 17, 2009 4
Free VOIP Choose Ooma Not Vonage – Ooma Review
In attempts to save as much money as possible on household expenses, I had decided to use my cellphone exclusively and drop my land line service. I had used Vonage in the past, but didn’t want that recurring payment either. In the first two weeks, I ran into a couple of problems with this strategy.
The first issue I encountered was poor signal reception – no bars, low bars, and dropped or missed calls. There were areas within my house that I dared not take my cellphone; these areas I came to call “signal-slayers.” The second problem was that I truly did not feel comfortable that my young children did not have a way to dial 911 should I drop dead in the backyard (or if some other emergency occurred). It was at this point that I determined that I had to have a backup home phone.
These are the requirements that I had for the new backup home phone service:
- The actual phone had to be a standard telephone (not a soft-phone or pc-based phone) that my children could easily operate.
- I did not want to have my computer on 24/7 in order to utilize the phone service.
- The phone service had to offer 911 (or E911 at the very least).
- The service had to be VERY affordable (the cheaper the better).
Based on these requirements, I investigated the following options…
VOIP Services like Vonage
Having used Vonage in the past, I felt the service worked well. Though this service is cheaper than most standard phone lines, it still included taxes and fees that I found annoying. I received a discount for paying annually, but I was still paying about $220 per year, and I wanted to pay less than that. Vonage VOIP was not the right answer for me.
Other VOIP like Skype
Skype is more affordable no doubt, even with the $60 annual fee to have a dedicated phone number. The problem, for me, was that the service would require my pc to be on at all times in order to make / receive calls (or a WIFI phone can be used, but that seemed too pricey for me).
Basic, Traditional Land-Line Service
I contacted ATT and the cheapest option they would offer me was $12/month + $7 tax ($19/month or $228/year for local service only – no long distance or local toll service included). This option was clearly too expensive for the very limited service provided (and I hate paying all those bs taxes).
The Solution…
After reviewing my options, none really seemed to fit what I wanted. I continued my search… Eventually, I found a VOIP service called “Ooma.” I had never heard of the service prior to stumbling upon they’re website. Ooma has a business model that sets it apart from all the other VOIP services I found out there. With Ooma, you pay only for the equipment; the service is free.
The one-time, upfront expense averages about $240. This cost was comparable to all the other options that I had reviewed with one distinct difference – I never had to pay another dime for the service. There are no monthly fees or access charges at all going forward.
I will continue in the near future with a review of the service after using it for a month. I will also provide some information about Ooma’s features at that time. Please check back soon!
Ooma Phone System
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