The first point relates to sound quality. When I first got the service I thought the sound quality was comparable to “ma bell”, except when I was using the internet intensely (using file-sharing while watching YouTube) in which case the other party reported I sounded garbled. This may have actually been an issue with my router, though, because I changed routers ten months ago and haven’t had issues in about a year. What some people may not notice, though, is when you call someone else with Vonage. I honestly believe the quality to be crystal clear in such cases. There’s less distortion than on phone lines. When you hear a TV or talking in the background, the voices remain distinct. Another case I have for better sound quality is when calling my friends abroad. They no longer sound a mile away due to signal loss. I almost never get a bad connection now and I would say that in those rare occasions I would have to blamed it on the Egyptian telecommunications, because what few times I do get static it’s usually during the afternoon in Cairo. If you have pen-pals abroad, this service is a must-have. The other issue or lack there of would be regarding usage charges.

Though I only just started getting free calling globally (and still at the same low price which I’ve paid without a rate hike for twenty-six months), I’ve experienced significant international savings throughout my history with Vonage. My former phone provider, MCI, could charge me as much as $80 a month for the limited calling I placed to my old college friends in Egypt and Ireland. As soon as I got my first Vonage bill, I noticed the huge difference, at all times paying less than a dollar a minute for international calling, even to rural places that most providers charge an arm and leg to call. Now, I can call for hours without a worry or care. I haven’t had to worry about long distance charges since even before Vonage, but, with MCI, I was paying nearly $75 for unlimited long distance.

I would definitely recommend anyone looking into VoIP to give Vonage a try.