Everytime I try and get out...they keep pulling me back in. I want to leave Bell (I really do!), but just when I am ready to take my small business service to vonage, Bell comes out with the same service (better, actually) at a lower price. Plus, since I'd be staying with Bell, I can rest easy about moving my phone number - because it doesn't move! I guess I should be happy, but I can't help but wonder whether Bell would have come out with a deal like this if vonage didn't first. Worse - if there are more people out there like me (whose risk aversion exceeds their distate for Bell), how much longer will vonage stick around to keep Bell honest?

A very timely post! I echo your sentiments! I am going to be moving from Ottawa to Hamilton and don't want to go through the hassle of changing my business number. VOIP sounded like a great solution to that problem. I've signed up for Vonage Small Business Basic to try it out (risk free for 14 days!) and have had it about a week now - I'm still hesitant to fully commit and pull the plug on my Bell service just yet (I'm currently call forwarding the Bell number to my Vonage 'temporary' number so I can receive calls via VOIP). I love the features and the web interface, but my biggest parameter is voice quality. It's not bad, but it's not perfect either. There is a bit of a delay and full duplex (both people talking at once) can cause some missed words and garbling. Some people I talk to complain about an occasional echo on their end. (Not appropriate when calling customers!)

I just found out today that Bell launched this new service - there isn't much information on how it compares technically to Vonage. Expected voice quality? How much bandwidth it uses? (The more the better in my mind as I want the best quality possible) Service up-time? What brand/type of phone adapter do you get? Does it have QoS? How fast can they get you up and running?

One of the reasons that I'd consider going with the Bell service is that I presume it will be quicker to transfer my number (Vonage takes up to 4 weeks). Also, I found the support at Vonage to be marginal (although Bell's is not always fantastic either) - zero response to email inquiries so far and somewhat argumentative phone techs (although I did get through within 10 minutes on Friday afternoon). Most of the useful information I've gotten has come from the Vonage forum (http://www.vonage-forum.com).
I would also imagine that Bell has a better 'phone line' network than Vonage, since they are, after all, also a 'real' phone company with considerable history. How would the two companies compare in terms of number of simultaneous calls? Would Vonage ever not have a line available for me to dial out on?

If anyone has any experience with the new Bell service and can comment on voice quality, I'd really appreciate it. Meanwhile I will call Bell to see if they can sell me on their system...

VoIP providers may be viewed as commercial realizations of the experimental Network Voice Protocol invented for the ARPANET providers. tranzactii imobiliare