Any thoughts about Skype?

[squirell nutkin]

A friend and I were talking about the rapacious charges of verizon. We pay about $70/mo. for local and long distance with no extras at all for our land line. He mentioned switching to Skype for VOIP and for about $150/year you can send and receive calls to and from non skype users. Even after buying a router to be able to use our handsets and buying a wireless skype headset and webcam, we'd still be hundreds of dollars ahead of the game. So it seems...

Anyone have any experience with Skype? I'm not worried about lack of 911 support. I have a cell phone for that and neighbors who are less than 20 feet from my house.

[limey]

I don't understand why more people (myself included) don't use it. We've just installed it in an office I work in occasionally to keep in touch with our colleagues far far away.

[TheMercenary]

My wife uses it to chat with a GF of hers who moved South. They enjoy staying connected. Her GF uses it to chat with her husband who is stationed in Korea. It seems pretty cool.

[jinx]

We just dont have a home phone, we each have cell phones instead.

[squirell nutkin]

yeah, I'd do cell phones in a heartbeat if we had better service. The one we use is really only for when we travel. For regular use it is annoying.

[TheMercenary]

The good thing about Skype is that it doesn't matter where you call to, including places as far away as Korea.

[tw]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

The good thing about Skype is that it doesn't matter where you call to, including places as far away as Korea.

It does matter if you want to call Egypt or Persian Gulf states. Some nations have intentionally blocked or intermittently pervert Skype packets to protect their government owned telephone companies.

[lumberjim]

i knew you were a camel jockey

[glatt]

Originally Posted by squirell nutkin

A friend and I were talking about the rapacious charges of verizon. We pay about $70/mo. for local and long distance with no extras at all for our land line.

Can you upgrade to FIOS? When you start bundling stuff together, it starts getting cheaper. We pay like $70-80 for unlimited phone calls and high speed internet through Verizon FIOS. The calls aren't itemized. It's a flat rate phone service.

You should look at what you pay for internet and phone and tv(if anything) and then look at the offers out there. If you are considering VoIP, you must have something fast, like cable internet. You might be surprised if you shop around for a package deal through FIOS or even the cable company.

[tw]

Originally Posted by glatt

Can you upgrade to FIOS?

Even FIOS has little hidden fees. For example, if you must move (ie a new job), FIOS now has a $500 cancellation fee on that two year contract. Recently increased from $300 to $500.

[classicman]

That was not in the contract I recently signed, In fact I asked about an early termination fee and there was none after 6 months. However, within the first 6 months it was $300.

[squirell nutkin]

Yeah, we can't get FIOS here yet. In fact there are alot of people who have either dial up or intermittent satellite. The hills and valleys around here make it rough.

We've got cable and it is pretty good speed most of the time.

Cable is $50 a month and they are the only game in town. Verizon phone is $65-$70/mo. for basic service.

If we switched to Skype and paid to make and receive non Skype calls we'd be saving about $50-60/mo.

[casimendocina]

Big thumbs up for Skype.

[tw]

Originally Posted by squirell nutkin

Verizon phone is $65-$70/mo. for basic service.

You also do not have Verizon, et al DSL?

Once management was finally shown the threat to landlines from 3G wireless, suddenly Verizon management began a program to have FIOS installed in all regions in four years. Verizon still has no FIOS plans for your region?

Details on these various problems and why service (competition) is so limited is discussed in The internet is over!. A significant reason why the 'Powell created' duopoly and the wireless providers so want to subvert net neutrality is Skype. Skype's service is a wide card that can undermine entrenched businesses by providing using competitive solutions. Entrenched companies fear innovation. Traditionally go running to government (ie FCC Commissioner Powell) for protection rather then innovate.

[squirell nutkin]

See? All the more reason to support Skype. I am pro innovation of this stripe, especially if it undermines companies like verizon.

I had verizon dsl for a while and it was more expensive than cable for comparable speed. It was problem prone, verizon customer service was the worst I've ever encountered, and after several hours of speaking with half a dozen minions from all over the world, I finally got them to send a lineman out who told me that they never installed the gazinta into my box, AND because of the way the lines ran to my house, I would never achieve the stated speed, it wasn't possible, he said. And he was right. He tweaked a few things and re-routed my lines somewhat to shave several miles off the trip and it bumped up my speed by a few hundred k.

We are really in East Cornflake out here. IF they are on a 4 year FIOS for All plan, then we'll have it 4 years and a week later.