Is anyone familiar with Skype phone service?

How does it compare with Vonage? Pricing...Practical...Equipmen...

needed? Any info!

Answer:

i used vonage in the past.. they were very reliable, and very good... lately on here i have been seeing bad things about vonage.. however, i never experienced any problems with the vonage service...

i was using my cable companys voip service, and it worked flawlessly... i only canceled it because when i disconnected my tv service they would not allow me to get the double play rate for phone and internet, but bumped me to full price...

so now i am using skype.. it is completely diffrent from any phone provider..

I have 20gb D/l and 5 gb u/l speeds on my internet... (tested by speakeasy.net) and I have had several droped calls with skype...

i have the usb phone adapter ($30 at radio shack), so it is connected to my house phone.. sound quality is ok, but could be better...

for quality and reliability (especiallay if dealing with the line for business, or if you need to connect a fax machine which will not work with skype) i would recommend first going with your cable company (if you have HSI with them) then looking towards vonage, sun rocket, packet 8 or any of the other VoIP providers...

for cost, and value. skype is 1/2 the cost of the next most expensive service... at less then $90 for the year for skype in and skype out...

VoIP provided by your internet provider, either the cable company, or voice wing from verizon is superior, because it runs from your home, to your providers location over there network, and the voice packets are given priority, so call quality, and reliability is the best... (and you may be able to get a good rate with bundled services)