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Vonage VoIP Service - An Overview
Vonage is currently the leading supplier of monthly VoIP services in the industry, with an estimated subscriber base of over 2 million customers. Vonage was one of the earliest VoIP providers to emerge on the national scene, and has experienced continual growth since its inception. Primarily due to an aggressive advertising campaign and consistently high ratings among users, Vonage has grown from 640,000 subscribers in March 2005 to the current level of over 2 million. This article will give a brief overview of the products and services offered by Vonage, and discuss some of the reasons why they are the #1 VoIP provider.
Vonage - Available Service Plans
Vonage offers four basic monthly service plans to their customers. This includes two residential and two business plans. The table below gives an overview of these four plans:
Included Minutes |
Extra Minutes |
Unlimited
Calls Area |
Price |
Plan Details |
|
| Residential Premium Unlimited Plan | Unlimited local, Long-distance
& International* |
- |
US, Canada, Puerto Rico and
Europe* |
$24.99/mo. |
|
| Residential Basic 500 Minutes Plan | 500 minutes local and long-distance |
3.9 cents |
US, Canada and Puerto Rico |
$17.99/mo. |
|
| Small Business Premium Unlimited Plan | Unlimited local, Long-distance
& International* |
- |
US, Canada, Puerto Rico and
Europe* |
$49.99/mo. |
|
| Small Business Basic 1500 Minutes Plan | 1500 local and long-distance |
3.9 cents |
US, Canada and Puerto Rico |
$39.99/mo. |
*Includes Italy, France, Spain, UK and Ireland - only. All other international calls have international rates applied.
Vonage Hardware
Currently, Vonage offers either a Dlink ATA or Motorola VoIP router for free (after instant rebate) upon signup. Both of these devices provide an analog port for your existing analog telephone. The Motorola device also provides a data port for connecting one PC to the Internet. Upgrades with more analog and data ports are available for modest additional charges. Vonage also offers a fully-featured Vtech cordless VoIP hardphone with one handset, a Uniden hardphone with handset on the base unit and one cordless handset, and a UTStarcom WiFi hardphone that works with your wireless router connection.
Basic Features Included in All Plans
Vonage offers a rich set of included features. The following features are included in the price of any Vonage monthly service plan:
|
|
Notes on Features:
- Voicemail Plus – A very powerful voicemail package that allows you to check your voicemail from your VoIP phone or by regular phone, with access numbers in the US, Canada and Europe. You can play messages back online by logging on to your web account. Voicemails can also be sent to you as attachments to your email, which you can save and forward as you would any email. You can also record scheduled greetings for different hours of the day or even different days of the year.
- Click-2-Call – A very useful feature that allows you to click on a phone number anywhere on your computer and have it dialed by your Vonage service. Provides instant integration with your existing contact list (such as Outlook).
- In-Network Calls – All calls placed between Vonage users are free, regardless of location. These calls do not count against your monthly minutes if you have one of the limited plans.
- Area Code Selection – You can select your area code at signup from any area that Vonage provides service. (This makes your primary phone number a virtual phone number).
- Take Vonage With You – You can take your Vonage service with you when you move or even when you travel. All you need to do is take your Vonage ATA along and plug it into any high-speed internet connection.
- Vonage V-Forecast – Provides weather information, including 5-day forecasts, to any Vonage-enabled device. All you do is call a toll-free number from your Vonage phone and enter your zip code to get a forecast for that zip code.
Enhanced Features
- NEW! Vonage Text - Automatically transcribe your voicemails to text so that you can read them right from your e-mail.
- Add a Line – Allows you to add a number to your existing Vonage line. Price varies with service plan.
- Virtual Phone Number – You can add a virtual phone number to your service. The area code from the virtual number can be anywhere that Vonage provides service. Costs as low as $4.99/mo.
- Softphone – Primarily designed for use on laptops by mobile users. Includes 500 local and long-distance minutes. Requires an existing Vonage account to sign up. See Vonage site for pricing.
- Fax Service – Vonage customers can get a dedicated fax line for $9.99/mo. with residential service. Includes 500 minutes of local and long-distance outbound fax minutes.
- Toll Free Plus – Add a toll-free 1-800 number to your Vonage account. Includes 100 inbound toll-free minutes from anywhere in the US.
The Vonage V-Phone
The V-Phone is a unique new device offered by Vonage that literally allows you to take your Vonage service with you. The V-Phone is a fully featured softphone (Vonage Talk Software) contained on a USB flash drive. To use it, all you do is plug the V-Phone into an available USB port on any computer with high-speed internet access. The Vonage Talk Software will load automatically and present you with a user-friendly softphone. You then have full access to all of the features of your Vonage account. Note – Because the V-Phone is a mobile device, you will not have access to Basic or E911 service. If you dial 911 from a V-Phone, your call will be routed to a Vonage emergency operator who will assist you in summoning help.
Summary
As you can see, Vonage is truly a full-service VoIP provider. Vonage has a history of being the first to provide innovative new features to VoIP users, and this trend will certainly continue in the future. Given the fact that it is the largest provider of monthly VoIP service, has one of the richest feature sets available, is one of the easiest VoIP services to install, and has excellent customer service and support, Vonage should certainly be at or near the top of your list when considering which VoIP provider to choose.