Wednesday, February 18, 2009

More Idiots in the VoIP Space

SunRocket didn't work. Vonage is on life support. Magic Jack is turning to targeted advertising for additional revenue. Now comes ViaTalk with $199 for 2 lines for 2 years. (Buy 1 year get 1 Free, according to dealnews.)

New customers who purchase one year of the ViaTalk VT_Unlimited Calling Plan for $199 receive two lines for the price of one, plus one year of service for free. At $8.29 per month for 24 months ($17/mo. after), that's still one of the best deals we've seen from ViaTalk. A $30 fee for activation applies, and the Linksys VoIP adapter costs $10 to ship. The plan includes e911, voicemail, caller ID, call waiting, call forwarding, free in-network calls, and more.

2 comments:

VOIPster said...

The root of the problem is the VOIP provider's dependency on "the network" to deliver decent service. Ultimately the customer gets bad service and they blame the VOIP provider (who has no control over the viability of the DSL or Cable Internet connection, nor the customer's LAN). That's why VOIP should be bought from the network provider if you need "good" service comparable to the old PSTN.

Peter Radizeski said...

Everything IP is dependent on "the network". For innovation and economic prosperity, we need what the media calls Network Neutrality.

On the other hand, regional VoIP providers are able to deliver B2B digital voice service with QOS, just not at a price competitive to Vonage. But then you get what you pay for.