Considering using Vonage internet phone service. Any opinions?

I don't know anyone who uses it yet. Anyone here use it and are there any negatives that you don't hear about? I understand it takes about 20 days to transfer your existing number so you're paying for two services at once until it's transfered. Anything else?

I didn't have an existing number, so didn't have any transition pains. It's worked reliably and no one notices it's VoIP

I've talked to a co-worker and he says that the only problem he's had is when the internet goes down, but then he just uses his cell phone.

there's a way to designate a number to send Vonage calls to when the broadband isn't working. Not quite call forwarding, only works when the internet connection doesn't.

I just got Vonnage. Have been carefully reading their literature.

I was about to switch but read of people having customer support issues and the phone number transfer issues you mention. And there are some regulatory things going on, like new Fees and Taxes the FCC has decided to impose on VoIP providers that made me think about waiting another few months to see if things at Vonage and industry in general settle down a bit.

When you use their cost calculator the total cost is just under $29.00 for unlimited calls. But if there are more fees on the way it might not be worth it.

Phone transfer took awhile, but was within the time promised. I think it was SBC holding things up.

I haven't had any issues with Vonage. And like another poster said, I use my cell when the internet is down.

I have no family in town. All my calls are long-distance. I'm saving about $500/year compared to SBC phone service and my long-distance provider. I pay just under $30/month with taxes.

My sister lives in the UK and the rates are 3 cents a minute. :)

But then again, when I got it, I just got a new number. In any case, 20 days to pay for both is not such a big deal when you consider that after that you will only pay $25 for unlimited long distance and all the bells and whistles that normally cost at least twice that in the cheapest markets.

I had some issues two years ago, but in the past year the service has improved significantly. The only issues you might have would be with your own cable or DSL provider. As long as that service is good and doesn't have interruptions, you shouldn't have any problems. When I moved recently, I had to have the cable company out a couple of times to check the signal strength to my cable modem, as it was affecting my internet service in general. Since they rewired it, I've had few problems.

Occasionally, I experience a dropped call, but I'm on the phone in conference calls many hours every day, and I rarely experience any problems at all.

My one concern is that Time Warner seems to revoke its IP addresses pretty quickly if your computer is idle. It happens usually once per day if the computer is on but we're not using it. If that happens, we won't have phone service, right?

I don't think it would revoke your IP addresses if you are using a router (which Vonage provides to new customers free of charge), but I've never had a situation where a provider revokes IPs. I would check with Time Warner to see if that would be an issue. It seems unlikely since so many people use VOIPs now. I believe Time Warner also offers broadband phone service, so I don't think they would want to disrupt their own customers' service.

It may be in my computer's settings. I'll have to call TWC and see if it's something that can be changed, ie, a timeout period that can be extended.

The Vonage modem sits as its own device on the network - if the central office can't reach the box, calls will be forwarded as you request at the website's control center. You plug your phone directly into the Vonage device and there's an extra jack so you don't need a separate hub.