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Vonage Goes Head to Head with Ma Bell The Wi-Fi phone looks like a cell phone and connects to the Internet via wireless networks. When it’s available, it’ll be marketed as an extra handset option you can use with your existing Vonage service. One of the Wi-Fi phone’s supposed advantages is that you’ll be able to use it at many of those Wi-Fi hotspots that are showing up increasingly in public places such as airports and hotels. It apparently won’t work in locations where you have to log on with a username and password, at least at first, so that may limit its usefulness initially. But it sounds like a handy way to take your phone from home to office and whatever points in between will handle it. But to me, the greatest benefit of the $100 US Wi-Fi handset that, since it’s portable, it could make buying all those wireless phone jacks unnecessary. It should work like a regular cordless phone, and if that’s the case, it’ll be a wonderful feature. It could also reduce your cell phone expenses by cutting down on the number of times you have to use your old fashioned cell phone. It isn’t a cell phone, though, which means you still have to be in range of a wireless network to use it. Anyway, the multiple phone caveat notwithstanding, Vonage offers a wonderful assortment of features with its service, and you can log onto their website to monitor your account and your phone usage. Other features include virtual phone numbers, which let you "pretend" to have phone numbers in area codes other than your own. This "telephone sleight of hand" is a nice idea if, for example, you have a lot of people who phone you from a particular area code, or a few people who phone you a lot. By using your "fudged" number, they can call you without having to pay long distance charges. This feature costs $7.99 Canadian per month, however. But included in the basic price are such features as: Voicemail Plus, Caller ID with Name, Call Waiting, Call Forwarding and 3-Way Calling — though I couldn’t get the 3-way calling to work (it may have been the phone I was using rather than a problem with Vonage, however). The best residential service package lists for $39.99 per month Canadian, and includes unlimited local and long distance calling anywhere in the US or Canada. That’s a good deal if you do a lot of long distance phoning. There are also cheaper deals, starting at $19.99/month for 500 minutes per month for calls in the US or Canada, so which plan is best for you depends on how verbose you tend to be. And don’t forget the extra costs you may incur if you have multiple phones. Business customer prices start at $55.99 Canadian for 1500 local/long distance (Canada and US) minutes and for $69.99 a month you get unlimited calling. Both business services also include a dedicated fax line. As I mentioned earlier, the service seems to work as advertised, so despite my test being rather limited, I am intrigued enough to be now considering switching to VoIP technology. If my contact had answered my questions when I’d asked them, however, I’d be even more prone to thinking about it. I hope that isn’t an indication of their commitment to customer service. Jim Bray publishes TechnoFile Magazine at www.technofile.com. His varied careers have included journalist, technology retailer, video store pioneer, and syndicated columnist; he does a biweekly column on CBC Radio One's The Business Network. | |||||||||
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