Vonage: The 3 Year Review
I’ve been a customer of the “internet phone company” Vonage for over three years now. Vonage is somewhat of a pioneer in the VOIP (making phone calls over the internet) industry. They’ve been around since the beginning and are really beginning to pick up steam as the technology makes its way into the mainstream.
As many of you might be unsure as to whether this technology is right for you and your real estate business, I thought I would give you the pros and cons of the service, based on my daily use over the past 3 years.
If you are not familiar with VOIP (pronounced VOYP), the technical name for making calls over the internet, there are three main benefits compared to traditional telephone lines.
- Cost- VOIP costs a fraction of the price of traditional phone service.
- Convenience – Your phone number can travel with you wherever you travel. Even if you are staying in a hotel in Japan and have access to a high speed internet connection in your hotel, you can make and receive calls as if you were sitting in your office.
- Features – For the price of the basic service you will receive all (and more) of the features you pay for with traditional phone service. Plus you’ll get other features like having voicemail messages delivered to your email box and calls forwarded (for free) to any other telephone number.
I first subscribed to Vonage prior to a cross country move as a way to get a local phone number even though I wouldn’t be moving for a few months. In this case, I was going from Arizona to Chicago.
The signup process was absolutely painless. Within 10 minutes of signing up online, I had a working telephone number (with voicemail) with a local Chicago area code. A few days later, a small box arrived in the mail into which I plugged my normal phone and my high speed internet connection.
With the box plugged in, I began making and receiving phone calls as if I was sitting somewhere in Chicago. When someone dialed my number in Chicago, my phone rang in Arizona.
I think the price of the service was about $35.00 per month (Vonage has since lowered the price twice in three years.) and that included a bunch of extra features like voicemail, call waiting, caller id and free call forwarding.
From the beginning, call quality has been indistinguishable from a normal landline telephone.
When I arrived in Chicago a few weeks later, I just plugged the same little box back into my telephone and then into my internet connection and voila, I had a working phone. So much for wasting a whole day waiting for the local phone company to arrive to hook up a telephone line.
Shortly after arriving in Chicago, I upgraded my Vonage plan to a business class plan (which I continue to use today). For $49.99 per month, I receive unlimited phone calls to the U.S. and Canada, a dedicated fax line (yes, you actually get 2 lines for the price of one) for sending and receiving faxes, and more features than I will most likely ever use.
One of the most recent and most impressive services in the BlastMe® feature, which allows you to set a predefined list of phone numbers where you might be found at any given moment. When your Vonage phone number rings, every number in your list (like your cell phone, office phone, home phone) can ring simultaneously until you pick one up. Talk about not missing a call from a client!
I know it’s subtle, but can you tell I am impressed with this service?
As with anything, there are a few drawbacks that should be noted:
The quality of your internet connection is key. Having a high speed internet connection is an absolute must. Ideally, you need a connection that is both fast (like DSL or cable) and consistent.
911 Service is a bit different. Setting up your Vonage account for 911 dialing requires a few extra steps including entering the physical address where you are using your service. When you dial 911, you are connected to a dispatch center before you are forwarded to the appropriate medical or law enforcement agency.
It’s not perfect. Internet telephone technology is good, but it isn’t as fail safe as a traditional telephone line. When the power goes out, so does your telephone.
Transferring existing numbers can be a pain. As the technology is pretty new, there are not many laws governing the transfer of existing phone numbers from a traditional phone company to a service such as Vonage. I have had number transfers for clients be both painful and painless. You are pretty much at the mercy of the telephone company who is losing a customer. You can imagine they are not always eager to make things easy for you.
Despite the few drawbacks, Vonage has been an important and very productive tool in my business. Even when there are problems, working with Vonage to resolve them is a dream compared to entering the world of the traditional phone company. I left that world 3 years ago and I am never looking back.
