For an explanation of how we rank reviews, see our ratings criteria page.
by Rick Broida
In this article, Rick Broida tests five VoIP phone services, coming away generally impressed with all. However, he is most impressed with Vonage, and that service captures PC Magazine's Editors' Choice… rating in this category. Broida says Vonage is reliable and offers good voice quality, but value is a mixed bag. Basic phone calls are cheap, but calls to some international cities cost more than other services and adding extra features can quickly add to the overall price. Links from this article lead to longer reviews of each of the services covered.
by Contributors to BroadbandReports.com
This large user community covers the entire scope of everything broadband, including VoIP services. User ratings and reviews for VoIP providers compete for space with reviews for broadband Internet and TV… services, but there are plenty to be found. A nice touch is that they are organized by happy users (Smooth Ride), those that are not completely pleased (Mixed) and those that are largely displeased (Unhappy Campers). Reviews can be updated by the original posters if things change, and other users can add comments. A regularly updated chart called The Good, The Bad and The Ugly rates and ranks VoIP providers based on recent user reviews. Most services have discussion forums that can also be helpful in evaluating whether or not a VoIP provider will meet your needs.
by Editors of J.D. Power & Associates
Though best known for its car satisfaction ratings, J.D. Power also polls consumers about their local and long-distance telephone service. Unfortunately, this survey mixes VoIP with traditional… long-distance services, which limits its usefulness. This research study, based on 11,911 customer responses, discovered that bundling video with voice and data gives cable companies a competitive edge. Cox Communications got the highest scores in the Northeast, Southwest and West. Cox was especially notable in its reliability and customer service. Bright House ranked highest in the Southeast, Cablevision in the mid-Atlantic and WOW in the North Central region. However, not all companies are included, and national VoIP companies like Vonage and Lingo are not included in the survey at all.
by Editors of PC Magazine
PC Magazine polls over 8,000 readers annually about their satisfaction with everything from computers to Internet service and VoIP. Optimum Voice gets the highest reader ratings by a narrow margin, followed… by AT&T CallVantage. Cox and Road Runner are also good. Optimum Voice, only available in New York City, got high scores for sound quality and connection reliability. The more widely available AT&T CallVantage bested Optimum in sound quality and nontechnical support issues. We would rate this report higher except that it is over a year old and we've not seen an update as of press time.
by Editors of CNet.com
CNet.com presents a list of 13 VoIP services it has reviewed in the past, with links to the full review. However, many of the individual reviews date from 2005 or 2006 -- too old to be of much relevance.… None of the reviewed services receive perfect ratings, although Vonage receives the highest score and an Editors' Choice award. Others that score well include AT&T CallVantage and Packet8. Since some of these reviews are outdated, CNet's coverage is less useful than some other sources that do a better job of keeping up with the swiftly changing VoIP market.
by Editors of Consumer Reports
This buyer's guide considers differences between landline, VoIP and cell phone services. The pluses and minuses of VoIP service are discussed, along with how to compare plans, check service areas, determine… international calling fees, and more. A comparison chart is included for five major VoIP services in terms of unlimited and limited calling plans, voicemail, coverage areas, additional numbers, broadband type and installation options, as well as activation and termination fees. No testing or ratings are included, however.
by Contributors to WhichVoIP.com
by David Pogue
by James Martin
Though VoIP saves its subscribers lots of money, it has some drawbacks. James Martin details a few key issues in this article. For example, it took one subscriber five months to transfer a phone number to… Vonage. Other so-called gotchas include loss of service during power interruptions and the cost of discontinuing your landline service. However, this article is outdated and many of these issues have been minimized.
by Ken Belson
by Aoife McEvoy
by Lee Gomes
This is an interview with chief technology officer Kaynam Hedayat of Brix Networks, which runs testyourvoip.com. Hedayat says that Internet phone calls are liable to run into network traffic jams due to the… emergence of file-sharing sites like YouTube, music downloads and e-mails with attachments. Because of surging use, Hedayat suggests using VoIP for travel purposes or as a second line or for international calls. No particular services are reviewed or rated.
by Katherine Noyes
by Editors of MyRatePlan.com
|
This is our assessment of the review’s relevance, clarity of testing and thoroughness.
Read more about our Ratings Criteria by clicking the link at the top of the page.
|
||
