| With more players jumping into the already populated | | | | to pay only US$0.17; for a call to the UK, it is as low as |
| space of Voice over the Internet Protocol (VoIP), the | | | | US$0.04 per minute. |
| perceptive user has that much more choice. Vonage is | | | | The Vonage Website lists the charges applicable to |
| a leading player in this marketplace with over a million | | | | each city on its network. Perhaps the best part of |
| subscribers worldwide in a short lifespan of three | | | | Vonage is that you can carry your US telephone |
| years. However, there is a set of negatives too, so | | | | number to any part of the world with broadband |
| wait until you reach the end of this review before you | | | | connectivity, and call the US at local call rates. For any |
| decide to switch from your traditional landline service | | | | reason, if you are dissatisfied with Vonage services, |
| to Vonage telephony. | | | | you can opt for the 14-day (or 30-day for some |
| What is Vonage and how does it differ from your | | | | packages) money-back offer. This trial period is |
| landline connection? For a start, you must have a | | | | enough time to try out the excellent features that you |
| broadband connection, preferably cable-based; a | | | | get with Vonage:o An unlisted telephone numbero Call |
| dial-up is no good. When you call Vonage customer | | | | waiting, callerIDo Call forwarding, 7-digit dialing (rather |
| service for a connection, Vonage sends you a tiny | | | | than area code +number used in many markets, |
| box, which you have to plug to your telephone and | | | | including Lingo)o An innovative voicemail featureo |
| your cable modem or DSL. You are now set to start | | | | Repeat dialo Dynamic periodic feature updates |
| a Vonage conversation. | | | | However, Vonage is not all positives. Its founding |
| With a Vonage connection, you have access to your | | | | premise is a bit wobbly; your connection is afloat only |
| telephone through your computer and the broadband | | | | as long as your broadband connection is. Any Internet |
| connection. The other big difference from a traditional | | | | outage and Vonage will cease to function. Call quality |
| phone service is cost effectiveness; with a Vonage, | | | | is also dependent on the speed of your broadband. |
| you can cut your telephone bill significantly, and | | | | Then there is the question of availability of a local |
| converse worldwide by buying local telephone | | | | number for your city; Vonage may not have your city |
| numbers from Vonage. | | | | listed, so you should confirm this with Vonage |
| Vonage offers a set of four monthly packages for all | | | | customer support before deciding on the service. |
| calls in the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico: a premium | | | | Vonage is facing stern competition from AT&T |
| unlimited offer at US$24.99, a basic plan of 500 | | | | and Verizon, and users have preferred the call quality |
| minutes at US$14.99, a small-business unlimited | | | | of AT&T to that of Vonage. Vonage is also not |
| package at US$49.99, and a basic small-business | | | | the cheapest VoIP service around in the marketplace. |
| offer of 1500 minutes at US$39.99. For calls from the | | | | However, Vonage is a winner on features. If you have |
| US to other world destinations, there is a nominal | | | | a dependable broadband connection, need to make |
| per-minute rate applicable, which is well below what | | | | frequent international calls, and travel to world |
| you would pay to your landline service provider. For | | | | destinations but need to stay in touch with the US, |
| example, for a minute's call to Mumbai (India), you need | | | | Vonage is for you. |