As a customer of both AT&T CallVantage (over a year) and recently Vonage, I thought I would write a brief comparison based on my experiences thus far. Both boast the same features except for a few exceptions. I’ll also look at sound quality, availability and service.

I cancelled my AT&T service after my router broke and I couldn’t find a replacement at any box stores. The AT&T unit was a Linksys Wireless G Router with built-in 2-port TA. As the router failed, I was out both Internet and phones. I purchased separate router (Linksys Wireless G) and 2-port Linksys TA (telephone adapter), both with 2-year service warranty from Staples. After the $50 rebate from Vonage, the two components will cost just over $90 which is less than the all-in-one box and gives my network more flexibility in the future.

For my home office, I chose to bundle with my ISP, a local cable company (Bresnan Cable) and their VOIP service is provided by Net2Phone. I’m very pleased with their service and have never had any issues with phone service. Furthermore, their cable modem/TA unit is unique as it has built-in battery backup - very cool.

FEATURES:

AT&T (+):

• call forwarding by date/time (e.g. 8-5 off, after 5pm -> forward to #)
• free soft phone (Vonage charges additional $9.95/mo for 500 minutes)
• conference calling (Vonage doesn’t offer this, even for business plans)

VONAGE (+):

• more equipment options, even a USB Flash Disk phone or wi-fi phone
• better customer service (immediate vs. AT&T 2-day + response)
• toll-free add-on for $4.95 (ironic that AT&T doesn’t offer this)
• voicemail to email (I didn’t have this feature with AT&T CallVantage)

SOUND QUALITY:

• no noticable differences in sound quality between either provider

SERVICE AVAILABILITY:

• Vonage has more available area codes and phone numbers (like Montana)

PRICING:

• Vonage is beating AT&T CallVantage both in residential and business plan pricing.
• Also, given Vonage is offering free calls to select European countries, it is more affordable than AT&T CallVantage.
• Given AT&T CallVantage didn’t offer toll-free service, I was paying $34.95/month for a 3rd-party toll-free service and e-fax, e-voicemail provider. Now with Vonage, I added the toll free line for only $4.95/mo and first 100 minutes free and 1 cent/minute cheaper.
• By consolidating my AT&T CallVantage and Toll Free service and switching to Vonage, I have added a free second line for FAX or call rollover, added toll-free and save over $30/month in telephone charges.

SUMMARY:

• If you are left with a choice between Vonage and AT&T CallVantage, choose Vonage. The only concern I may have is whether the company is profitable yet, and if not, will they have enough capital to absorb the immense customer aquisition costs and stay around. I think you can rest assured because if they are in danger, I’m certain someone with deep pockets will aquire them and their million + customers.

• If your business needs more than 2 lines, I’d suggest looking into Packet8 ( http://www.packet8.net/ )
• Another alternative is Proximiti ( http://www.proximiti.com )
• A special thanks to Dan Cripe, a buddy and current employee at SipStorm, for educating me on the ways of VOIP. I’m certain I have loads more to learn, but wanted to share my findings based on some of his research.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 21st, 2006 at 9:01 pm and is filed under Knowledge. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. This post has been viewed 2,243 times.