AT & T Alternatives?

I pay about 120.00 a month for cell phones, internet and landline service from AT&T. While they can be a pain to work with and when you call you get a different answer from everyone you speak with, the service is good. I would not get VOIP because in my opinion it is no better than having only cell. If you were to call 911 or their version of it and could not speak, they would not be able to locate you. I don't know about you but with kids, I cannot take that kind of chance. I have the 24.99 DSL with is very fast (we even do online game over it) the basic phone line with the only extra being caller id. We do have long distance available for a small fee, but that is just my choice since we have very little family around and I want the option there just in case. Then we have two cells with 800 min. I have only once or twice had any prob with my internet connection and that was when I very first got it. Never had a problem with the phone service and the cells there are only a few dead places in the area and they are very small.

We had SunRocket for a couple years, then they went out of bussiness. So we switched to Packet8...I believe Christy filled you in on most of their info. We have not had any problems with them so far. As far as powere outages, we only have cordless phones anyway in my house, so we would be s-o-l with any company! I did have to call 911 in July when my daughter broke her arm. I believe we still had SunRocket, but it went through the same way a regular 911 call goes through. In your account info, you just make sure you have your address on file and the 911 feature on, and it gives the dispatcher the correct info. The call went smoothly, and you would have never known we didn't have a land line.

Hi E.! I have to tell you that we ONCE paid $100/month for our AT&T home phone service. We have an AT&T plan that includes all local/local toll/long distance/nationwide calls, with unlimited minutes, for $40 a month (plus taxes, of course). I have become all too familiar with the different AT&T phone plans and offers...I check via the website and via customer service every so often just to make sure I'm getting the best deal possible. I'm leary with the digital service, simply because of the power outage and 911 issues.

Hi E.
We use Skype. www.skype.com You call people through your computer.
We paid $15 for the entire year ! I think right now it's $3.00 a month unlimited calls to any phone in US and only .02 per minute on international calls.

The only thing is you have to have your computer on when you want to call. It works for us, because we pretty much have it on all the time. We also bought this little box for a few extra $ you hook it up to the phone, and you can use Skype through your phone. This way you don't have to sit by the computer with the head-set on, you can walk around the house with the phone (if you have cordless). With the phone all you have to do is dial ##00 and then your number. It works great and it's cheap!!
If you use the computer, you just sign on to Skype, and you can use the dial pad with a mouse or with the keyboard.
You can also chat with people that have Skype and talk for free with other Skype users anywhere in the world.
That's a great feature also since we have relatives overseas we can talk with them for free instead of paying big $$.

My husband and I recently switched from VOIP woth Comcast abck to AT&T's land line. We hated the VOIP! There were times I would call our house and the would get a busy signal - we had call waiting and voice mail, so there was absolutely no reason for it to be a busy signal; and there were a few times we tried to call out from the house and would have a busy signal. Then about 6 months ago, the phones started to get HORRIBLE reception! It sounded like we were on cell phones in tunnels - the connection was breaking up. That irritated me because I was on the phone with work one day to tell them I was sick and wasn't coming in, but it sounded like I was on a cell phone and was lying - try explaining that one to the boss! Shortly after that, my husband switched back to AT&T because we couldn't have a phone where people can't understand what you were saying! As to availabilty of 911, I honeslty don't know what it was like with VOIP because we just had to call the non-emergency number a few times. When we called to cancel the VOIP with them though, our rates on the internet went sky high! So, we switched the phone and interent back to AT&T. Now we have the $30 package with AT&T for phones (there is no long distance though) and DSL and everything works great.

I have Vonage for almost 2 yrs now. They do have service interuptions at times, like the cable and phone modem will have to be reset(usually this is a comcast issue-have them for internet). I LOVE the flat fee I pay every month, regardless of how many long distance calls I make. Due to my job and the fact that I work at home, a cell phone would never allow me enough minutes on a plan without paying a fortune. The call quality is fine, the caller id is not always accurate. I have dealt with their customer service when lightning struck my neighbors house and knocked out my internet and phone. Comcast was diffucult period, Vonage was only diffucult because of language barriers. I have had to dial 911 and in my area Plainfield/Joliet it does not work. For 911 related emergencies I have to call the non emergency #. BUT I have 3 cell phones in the house that I can call 911 on also, so I am not overly concerned about that(and I have had to call 911 this past summer 3times). Not certain if Vonage has a battery backup(comcast does) in case power goes out, I know 2 yrs ago they didnt. All my work and volunteer activities are tied to the internet, so in the event of a power outage, being without VOIP phone is the least of my problems.

I would say to try and see who you like, but I do beleive companies are making you commit to a year?

We also use uniden cordless phones, 2 are plugged into the electrical outlet and 1 is plugged into the phone modem.

While I have recently called at&t to consider switching all services(cannot stand comcast), I am not certain I ever will. Their customer service person was unbeleivably rude. I explained I had vonage and pay 24.99/mo for everything, calling features, unlimited local and long distance, I dont have to dial 815 to call my neighbor across the street etc..He said the best he could do for me was $60/mo for what I have know. Right now at&t has lost my business. I will stick with VOIP, even though I cannot call 911 from my particular area and right now a minimum of $60/mo for what I have is just too expensive.

K.
www.arkparties.com

We have used VOIP for years. Since moving here 2 years ago, we have used Packet 8. It costs 19.99 per month, and only about $24 after taxes and add'l charges. That being said, I would recommend you not use this company. The service has gotten better over the past 2 years, but there are still times when my end of the conversation fades out. It doesn't happen a lot, but enough to make me look into a new phone company. But, my phone number won't transfer to anyone, so I haven't done the switch because changing our phone number everywhere is very time consuming. Anyway, to answer your questions regarding packet 8. As for power failures, that has rarely happened over the past 2 years here. But, when it does, I just use my cell phone.

1. You just pay $19.99 per month (excl. taxes & fees) and you get their modem thing for the computer. You can use any phones you want, but I have found that the more wireless things you have, the more you need a higher GH phone (we have dect 6.0 phones) so it will stay on a different channel than your other wireless things (if you have them)
2. I would not recommend packet 8 as reliable. My parents use AT&T VOIP and they love it.
3. I have never tried 911, so I can't say. My parents have it with their VOIP service (I am pretty sure it is AT&T VOIP, I'll double check) and how it works is you register your computer at your house. Every time the power goes out, you need to reregister your computer (they say it is simple to do and quick). That way, when you do call 911, they have your name and address because that is where your computer is registered (if you are calling from home).
4. I would not recommend packet 8 VOIP.

Do you really NEED a land line?? We don't need a land line for the computer or anything, so we've been doing cell phones only for several years now. Is your cell phone generally reliable besides that one time?? Our cell phones have been generally reliable for us...only issue was with the phone battery...not connections, though we do now keep a third cell phone that we barely ever use that is for backup and to keep at the house when somebody else is here with the kids. With all 3 cell phones and more minutes than we ever use along with nationwide roaming, we pay just over $100 a month. Big difference from your nearly $100 a month for a land line considering you have cell phone bills on top of that. Just a thought, as that's what works well for us.

We had vonage and it was okay. although when we went to cancel, it was awful!!! they continued to charge us months after we cancelled and we had a very hard time understanding any of the operators. good luck.

I've done several thing related to phone. Before we had kids we only used cell phones and did not have a landline. That worked very well for us. Then we moved here to New Lenox along with 2 kids and I felt I wanted a home phone. So we got Comcast internet and Comcast phone service which was VOIP. During those recent storms, power did go out and we did lose our phone and I guess lightening or something hit the box and for over a month, on and off (mostly off) they couldn't/wouldn't fix the problem. To this day I don't think it's been fixed and three of my neighbors have also since cancelled Comcast and gone with other services. That left me without internet and without phone. Both of which I rely upon heavily. I am now with AT&T landline and AT&T DSL service and so far so good.

I'm a network admin so I know a little about this technology and though it's come a long way, I don't think it's quite there yet. Failures are common and 911 is an issue. They do have safeguards in place that help but if your without power and without cell phone your a sitting duck.

So in answer to your questions:

1. I hear that WOW is pretty good and reliable if it's available in your area. Try www.wowway.com With any company you can save costs by bundling your phone and internet.

2. They all work pretty much the same and reliability is hit or miss. You won't know until you jump in how reliable it is for you.

3. I'm not entirely sure about this but I do know that most, if not all, VOIP services provide SOME type of 911 service, definitely a question to ask when shopping around.

4. I would NOT recommend Comcast......we had nothing but trouble, were treated terribly and finally had no choice but to cancel.

Good luck!