[Eug-lug] Local dial tone providers - Qwest alternatives?

[Russ Johnson]

Bob Miller wrote:

>It seems like the only real value a VoIP telephone company can add,
>for the hacker who enjoys building his own phone system, is routing
>to/from the PSTN.  Skype and Vonage sell complete "phone service" for
>nontechnical customers, and their product is no cheaper than Qwest
>(for basic service).
>  
>
Not entirely true.

Basic phone service (Verizon in Beaverton) is upwards of $30, plus tax. 
That gets you dial tone... Nothing more.

Vonage, with tax, is $27 and change. And they include features for that 
$27 that would cause your POTS line to cost you over $60 a month. Lots 
of added value there, if you use the features. Plus, you can access your 
voicemail on the web. I've made exactly one phone call to the voicemail 
system... To set it up. I also get email notification when I get a 
voicemail. I set up an alias in my mail server so everyone in the house 
gets the same email. I also get a log of calls made from and to my 
phone. Similar in concept to the detail billing you get with your cell 
phone.

I guess what I'm saying is you have to compare apples to apples, and 
what Vonage (and most other VoIP providers) is selling isn't the same 
apple as Qwest or Verizon basic service.

$3.00 is still $3.00.

It IS a complete package. But then, I want my phone service is "just 
work" (tm). I'm not interested in maintaining another box, in addition 
to the two servers and 5 workstations I already maintain for my family.

>There've got to be companies that will rent just a phone number and
>forwarding to your home Asterisk server for a very low cost.
>  
>
None that I've heard of.

>If you're in town, you can easily do that.  Comcast, DSL and a WISP.
>But the original question was, "How can I stop giving those jackasses
>at Qwest my money?"  If you don't want to pay the jackasses at Qwest,
>you probably don't want to pay Comcast's donkeys either.
>  
>
Nope, and when I got my speakeasy DSL "OneLink" service, and put Vonage 
on it, I was able to turn off my Verizon POTS line. Unfortunately, 
Eugene hasn't been put on their radar yet... No OneLink and no 541 area 
code... Maybe if all of you in Eugene were to log onto the Vonage 
website and tell them you can't use their service since they don't offer 
541, they'd get a clue.

Russ