Replacing landline with VoIP+Cellular
Replacing landline with VoIP+Cellular
I currently have a landline provided by SBC/ATT costing me $25-$35/mo that I have been wanting to replace for quite some time. I have 3Mb/s cable modem service, and was waiting for Charter Communications to come forth with its 'imminent' telephone service. They finally called a few weeks ago and offered me unlimited telephone service for $39/mo - no savings at all.
The real issue with this (and Vonage, and my new mobile provider's 'unlimited' plan) is that I don't really need unlimited service. Our combined local, long distance, and mobile (x2) usage is <300 minutes per month.
I want to completely replace my existing landline with some combination of my existing mobile and broadband services, and attempt to save the $400-$600/yr I have been paying to SBC/ATT.
Although I have done some research, I would very much appreciate some insight from those that have done this before. Here are the facts:
- I want to drop my residential landline. Residential, not business (or even small business).
- I currently have 3Mb/s cable modem service, via Charter Communications.
- VoIP local number (Skype-in, Vonage, Gizmo, SIP-in, etc) does not seem to be an option here on the California Central Coast (San Luis Obispo). I have not found any VoIP service that can provide me a local telephone number. None have a local point-of-presence. The closest would be up in Silicon Valley or down in Ventura county - either >200 miles away. "Having a prestige area code" arguments aside, most of the calls we receive are placed locally. Forcing our friends to call us using local-long-distance (the highest possible rates) would be very unfriendly.
- Number portability seems to not be an option here on the California Central Coast (San Luis Obispo). (Same reason as above, I suppose.)
- I am aware of 911 calling issues. In our area, only Vonage supports it. We still have 911 service on our mobile phones. If we reuse our cordless phones, I can program an autodial number for police, fire, etc (although these are non-emergency numbers). I can put the router and cable modem on a UPS in case of power outage.
- Our mobile account (via Cellular One) has 600 mins/month for 2 phones, with nation-wide long distance and California-wide local calling area (no roaming in CA). This a very old plan that is much better than the currently offered plans. If make any changes, I will be "promoted" to a newer plan, where the second phone goes from $5/mo to $19/mo and my local calling area shrinks to SLO county. The latter would be a killer, since I frequently travel between the SF Bay Area and LA.
- I have a small network of machines, using a Linksys BEFSR41 switch/router connected to the Motorola Surfboard SB4200 cable modem. I also have an Apple Airport wireless network (behind the router). I have read instances where placing VoIP hardware on the DMZ and/or between router and cable-modem may improve quality of service. I am open to replacing the Linksys router, as it is a complete piece of crap.
- I was considering getting an analog-to-VoIP box so I could reuse my existing 3 satellite cordless phone system. This benefits my wife ( the techno-luddite whose doesn't even use auto-dial ) as well as the convenience of cordless phones.
- Although I run a small home business out of my home, I don't think I need an asterisk-like PBX. Most of my business communication uses email, instant messaging, and video conferencing using iChatAV.
- My wife is English, with family and a small business in England (UK). Most communications are via email, but she does make 10-30 minutes of calls to the UK each month. Although we have 'free' US long-distance on our mobile phones, international calls from our mobiles are prohibitively expensive, so this should be covered by VoIP (or calling cards?).
- My primary desktop and servers are Mac OS X, so Windows-only software is not an option. I am considering Skype or Gizmo software-only service as they are Mac-friendly (especially Gizmo).
- My goal is to reduce telecom costs, so I don't want to fork out $500-$1000 for new hardware. I can probably justify $50-$150 initial outlay. $25-$40/mo services are out of the question, since they cost as much or more than I am paying now for my landline service.
- I am reasonably technically competent (note my numerous EE expert certifications), so I am comfortable setting up hardware/software/services
That is basically a dump of what I have been mulling around in my brain. I look forward to hearing your advice and experiences.
I currently have a landline provided by SBC/ATT costing me $25-$35/mo that I have been wanting to replace for quite some time. I have 3Mb/s cable modem service, and was waiting for Charter Communications to come forth with its 'imminent' telephone service. They finally called a few weeks ago and offered me unlimited telephone service for $39/mo - no savings at all.
The real issue with this (and Vonage, and my new mobile provider's 'unlimited' plan) is that I don't really need unlimited service. Our combined local, long distance, and mobile (x2) usage is <300 minutes per month.
I want to completely replace my existing landline with some combination of my existing mobile and broadband services, and attempt to save the $400-$600/yr I have been paying to SBC/ATT.
Although I have done some research, I would very much appreciate some insight from those that have done this before. Here are the facts:
- I want to drop my residential landline. Residential, not business (or even small business).
- I currently have 3Mb/s cable modem service, via Charter Communications.
- VoIP local number (Skype-in, Vonage, Gizmo, SIP-in, etc) does not seem to be an option here on the California Central Coast (San Luis Obispo). I have not found any VoIP service that can provide me a local telephone number. None have a local point-of-presence. The closest would be up in Silicon Valley or down in Ventura county - either >200 miles away. "Having a prestige area code" arguments aside, most of the calls we receive are placed locally. Forcing our friends to call us using local-long-distance (the highest possible rates) would be very unfriendly.
- Number portability seems to not be an option here on the California Central Coast (San Luis Obispo). (Same reason as above, I suppose.)
- I am aware of 911 calling issues. In our area, only Vonage supports it. We still have 911 service on our mobile phones. If we reuse our cordless phones, I can program an autodial number for police, fire, etc (although these are non-emergency numbers). I can put the router and cable modem on a UPS in case of power outage.
- Our mobile account (via Cellular One) has 600 mins/month for 2 phones, with nation-wide long distance and California-wide local calling area (no roaming in CA). This a very old plan that is much better than the currently offered plans. If make any changes, I will be "promoted" to a newer plan, where the second phone goes from $5/mo to $19/mo and my local calling area shrinks to SLO county. The latter would be a killer, since I frequently travel between the SF Bay Area and LA.
- I have a small network of machines, using a Linksys BEFSR41 switch/router connected to the Motorola Surfboard SB4200 cable modem. I also have an Apple Airport wireless network (behind the router). I have read instances where placing VoIP hardware on the DMZ and/or between router and cable-modem may improve quality of service. I am open to replacing the Linksys router, as it is a complete piece of crap.
- I was considering getting an analog-to-VoIP box so I could reuse my existing 3 satellite cordless phone system. This benefits my wife ( the techno-luddite whose doesn't even use auto-dial ) as well as the convenience of cordless phones.
- Although I run a small home business out of my home, I don't think I need an asterisk-like PBX. Most of my business communication uses email, instant messaging, and video conferencing using iChatAV.
- My wife is English, with family and a small business in England (UK). Most communications are via email, but she does make 10-30 minutes of calls to the UK each month. Although we have 'free' US long-distance on our mobile phones, international calls from our mobiles are prohibitively expensive, so this should be covered by VoIP (or calling cards?).
- My primary desktop and servers are Mac OS X, so Windows-only software is not an option. I am considering Skype or Gizmo software-only service as they are Mac-friendly (especially Gizmo).
- My goal is to reduce telecom costs, so I don't want to fork out $500-$1000 for new hardware. I can probably justify $50-$150 initial outlay. $25-$40/mo services are out of the question, since they cost as much or more than I am paying now for my landline service.
- I am reasonably technically competent (note my numerous EE expert certifications), so I am comfortable setting up hardware/software/services
That is basically a dump of what I have been mulling around in my brain. I look forward to hearing your advice and experiences.
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ASKER
No objections. I was hoping for a bit more feedback. I ended up consulting a professional VoIP consultant.
>>I was hoping for a bit more feedback.
your hope doesnt get transmitted through the website. if you need more information, you need to ask for it.
your hope doesnt get transmitted through the website. if you need more information, you need to ask for it.
ASKER
Actually, I don't know if Gizmo has local number (or number portability) support, since I have to sign up for service in order to ask. If anyone out there is already using the service, can you check if area code 805, exchange 549, San Luis Obispo, CA can get a local number.