VOIP Introductory Concerns

I've been eyeing up VOIP (Voice Over IP) services for quite some time. The technology seems like one of those areas that slowly becomes a solution that works its way into dominance.

At the very least it's a wonderful way to keep competition alive and well. Phone service is one of the great success stories of the value of free market competition. What used to cost me literally thousands of dollars a month can now be had for $60 a month with Verizon. VOIP looked to save me even far more than that along with adding a myriad of interesting features to the mix.

I started looking into this seriously a few years ago when Vonage was first making their mark in the industry. However, at the time they didn't seem up to snuff on several levels. Any time I called a Vonage customer, the call was often marred by echos, clicks, pops and drop-outs. More surprisingly their features were limited compared to what I already had with Verizon. At the time they had no 3-way calling. They had no *69. Their voicemail couldn't take a message if you were on the line. Plus they wanted $50 a month for their service and it was laiden with "gotchas". There's no way I was going to pay even 50% for a VOIP solution that is mainly using the bandwidth provided by someone else.

Just recently I took a closer look and things seemed to have improved dramatically. I started seeing prices everywhere dropping to below $25 a month with some as low as under $10 for agreeing to pay up-front for 2 years of service. Now that's a major savings and worth looking into.

Comcast has recently begun offering phone service but they think $40 a month is a competitive rate. See you later Comcast. Get a clue. Verizon offers it via a product they call VoiceWing but it was recently overpriced and under-featured and required payment only by guaranteed credit card plans (I'm a fan of controlling my payments, thanks.) On the plus side Verizon recently dropped the price down to $25 a month. Vonage is now at about $25 a month along with many other providers.

The two that looked the most compelling to me, however, were ViaTalk and VoicePulse. Both are very different but similar in ways that interested me. ViaTalk has essentially two payment plans. They have a flat monthly plan priced about the same as the rest but their main plans are all heavily discounted offers that you pay for in total up front. Until just last week they had a deal for 2 years of unlimited service for $199. You could even get that down to $164 with some searching on the Web. That's $6.83 a month for unlimited phone service. At those prices, the service would have to be pretty bad to pass up. It doesn't hurt that their CEO is also visible, active and responsive on one of the top VOIP forums on the Internet.

VoicePulse is a flat monthly service at the same $25 a month. Their major draw is that everyone seems to have nothing but praise for them. Their line quality is always discussed in glowing terms and their feature set is second-to-none. Their customer service is also always mentioned by fans as being the best available. Every issue is followed up with an e-mail and a phone call. It sounded like a company that understands the concept of service.

In the end I decided to take a chance with ViaTalk under an initial 3-month plan at $21.95 a month to see how things go. ViaTalk has been extremely aggressive with rolling out new features and seem to be closing the gap in that regard with VoicePulse. VoicePulse makes their home in New Jersey and, as a result, I'd end up having to pay an additional $1.75 a month for their service. At this prices that's a big increase. I figure if ViaTalk doesn't work out, in 90 days I can just move over to VoicePulse.

The one thing that annoys me about ViaTalk is that, like several other competitors, they change their pricing structure almost as often as the wind changes direction. I would check their website on a Monday to find them offering a plan for $15.95 a month and then on Tuesday it would be $199 a year. One Wednesday it'd be $15.95 a month with 3 months of free service, etc. Adding to the confusion is that, as I mentioned, all of their plans but one require the customer to pay for the total up front. However, their website is clearly designed to give the impression that the pricing shown is monthly when it's really just the average monthly price.

I got on the website and signed up for the 3-month plan. I used a $35 coupon they had and my bill ended up being $70.75. That included the 3 months of phone service, a $30 setup fee and a shipping and handling fee for the phone adapter they give you. I pay that much to Verizon now for one month of service on the one line I'm moving over.

The website made signing up a breeze, even though some of it could be complicated if not presented well. If you're moving an existing phone number over to a VOIP service there's a paperwork process that has to take place. In a few minutes I'd finished all the forms and immediately got a couple e-mails telling me I was signed up. Within about 10 minutes my entire process was complete including the shipping out of my phone adapter (which I'm still waiting to arrive so I can't be sure yet that the adapter actually shipped when they claim it did). This speed was unexpected as there were countless customers posting experiences of having to wait weeks for their phone adapters and service to be set up.

As part of the process you receive a phone number. For many this number is just temporary while you wait for your existing phone number to be ported over (a process that takes about 3 weeks on average). I got mine along with all the other information right away.

I then decided to go have a look at the various features offered on their website. Most everything for the phone is handled through an account management support website. You log into your account and view or change settings through it. The myriad of options are pretty compelling. Call alarms, the ability to ring multiple phones on incoming calls, advanced call filtering capabilities and many others.

On an extremely disturbing note I went into the call logging feature and was surprised to find a fully populated screen. It contained countless inbound calls along with full details. Names, times, phone numbers, etc. Clearly I was looking at the call details of the person who had this number before me. I then looked at the outgoing side and saw the same level of detail. Now I could see every call this person made. I knew who he called, when he called and for how long he called. This was very unsettling so I dug deeper. I found his address under the 911 settings. Under Voicemail I could listen to messages he'd received and not deleted. In the Custom Caller ID section (where you can define how you want incoming callers to show up) I found numbers for people that weren't in the call logs for the period covered. I also could see who his girlfriend was, his parents, friends and so on.

I then posted this information to a popular VOIP forum (www.dslreports.com) and several people responded that they too had experienced this. A few noted that the problem has gone on for months (at least as far back as April) without being fixed. The CEO also posted a note of clear concern and stated that this now had his attention and that he was looking into it.

I called ViaTalk the next day and went over the problem. No one seemed concerned. Did they not understand the implications of privacy concerns and what could happen in some worst case scenarios with this? I called back and spoke to a manager. He seemed to get it. I explained that not only did this concern me but that I now had real concerns with adding my information to this service because I'd have no way of knowing if my private information would be given to the next person who got my temporary number.

The manager listened and seemed to concur. He promised that he'd send me a new, clean number and personally promised that my temporary number would be fully wiped when I was done with it.

About an hour later I received an e-mail with a new phone number. I went into the features again and found the same problem now with a different set of information. Are they joking? They send me another number with the same problem? Did they even bother to check this before dealing with such a sensative issue? Apparently not. I called again and, while on the phone, the rep I spoke to got an engineer on the line and he immediately, in steps, removed the private information. The rep also said that engineering was now in full debugging mode on a search to find this problem. Meanwhile I still have my doubts.

Another concerning item was shared with me regarding Comcast. I use their broadband service and pay an extra $10 a month for premium connection speeds. The rep informed me that Comcast is notorious for "throttling" the portions of the service that are used for VOIP service. That means that even though I pay for a specific level of service, Comcast, if true, is limiting my speeds where I am most concerned about it. I'll be calling them later today to find out how true this is. I personally can't wait until Verizon gets their much more competitive FIOS service out to my area. Comcast needs a strong dose of competition.

I'll post more on this whole situation I'm sure. The phone adapter is due here today or tomorrow so the experience should be rather enlightening.

Iraq as a Deterrent

I've had a few people either contact me here, via e-mail or in person who have tried to use the argument that the war with Iraq is a deterrent against others who would move to attack us. The most often noted example of this is Libya.

I don't buy this argument for a number of reasons but a couple stand out. First, of all, the concept that Libya moved to normalize relations with us because they feared being next on our list is preposterous. Both sides had talked of normalizing relations for a long time before the Iraq war. It also does no good for fans of the administration to suggest that the war was the deciding factor for Libya. Why? Because if this is even remotely true it also means that the administration no longer gives a damn about its claim of promoting democracies in the area. Libya is anything but a democracy and yet we gladly accept them back into our good graces? The only reason we're talking to them at all is oil and money. Same story as usual.

The second reason I don't buy the deterrent argument is that it's been clear from the start that it's been anything but a deterrent. Instead it's been nothing more than a huge irritant to the rest of the world. Where North Korea and Iran were once perfectly comfortable in their positions now what they see is an unpredictable, chaotic, common-sense-lacking administration at the top of our government. That's done nothing but cause them to ramp up their offensive and defensive capabilities and with it comes the inevitable stress of such moves for all involved.

There's a fine line between being viewed an easy target and that of a crazy tyrant. There was a nice period there where we straddled the line between them quite well. Now we're very much perceived to be on the the less stable side of that line.

Now the situation is exacerbated even more with the conflict in Israel. Everyone around the world is worried about what path we're going to take and that makes people we don't trust very nervous. Is a nervous North Korea what we're really after here? Nervous people often make the wrong choices folks. The assumption that nervous people just back down just isn't accurate.

The Situation in Israel Is Potentially Dire for US.

As Israel seems destined to move in on Lebanon in their potentially fruitless quest to put down Hezbollah attacks, we need to watch our actions very carefully. It is not out of the realm of possibility that this situation could become a direct path to another world war.

Israel, as we know, isn't exactly on every country's best friend list. Several neighboring and nearby countries would like nothing more than to see Israel eradicated from the map, if not from existence entirely. If Israel continues to mow over Lebanon without restriction it's quite possible that a neighbor or two decides to come to Lebanon's defense. If that happens it's possible that another country, or countries will see this as a chance to finally attack Israel while it's spread too thing to react on multiple fronts. This will, of course, compel them to look to allies to help with the new challenge and that could bring any number of combatants together in a typical historically realistic domino effect.

If you're sitting back and thinking, "Yeah Israel, go kick some total ass and blow those bastards into the Stone Age," that's fine. Just be sure that you're fully prepared to suit up if the next dominos start to fall.

I've already served so this one is on those of you who thought this was such a great Hollywood moment. Just please have it all done by the time my 11 year-old son reaches 18.

Sean Hannity is a Traitor

What a prick this guy is. I listen to his show fairly often and he never ceases to disappoint me. Within minutes of listening he'll always say something that you can ask, "Hey, did you just say something entirely ironic?" Sometimes it's just hypocritical. Before you ask, yes, I listen to Sean Hannity. Why? Because unlike a lot of talking wind-bags on the Right I like to actually know what it is I'm talking about before being critical about it.

My father is a staunch Republican. I once asked him to tell me one thing George W. Bush has done right and his flat response was, "Everything". In a later discussion where I mentioned Michael Moore he said, "I hate him. Can't stand the guy." I asked if he'd seen "Fahrenheit 9/11". Nope. I asked if he saw "Bowling for Columbine." Nope. In fact, he's never seen anything Michael Moore has ever done. Forgive me but whenever I hear someone railing against say, "Brokeback Mountain" only to then admit that they haven't actually seen the movie and, by God, never will, I have no choice but to ignore anything such people have to say on the subject (and possibly most other subjects they hold opinions on to be safe as they're likely to have applied the same sort of scattershot thinking to those perspectives as well). Anyway, so I listen to Sean Hannity. In fact, I also listen to Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly and other conservative pundits. I also listen to Al Fraken, Ed Schultz, Randi Rhodes and watch Keith Olbermann. This gives you a pretty rounded perspective on politics instead of just listening to one side, generally the side you already fully agree with anyway.

Okay, so now before I totally get off the point, let me bring this back to that sleeze-bag Sean Hannity. This guy is so full of himself that it's disgusting. What sort of ego does it take to refer to "Hannitization" and running "Hannitization Tours"? You can hear him practically gushing every time someone calls in to say, "You're a great American, Sean." No, Sean, you're a waste of human tissue and most of the country knows it. You play every game possible with your listeners regardless of facts, regardless of morality, regardless of ethics. You've convinced a number of your challenged listeners that you have a clue and for that you should be ejected from this country for lying to so many people and doing so to put forth your own distorted, hateful agenda.

This is a man who starts off most of his recent shows by stating, "I'm here working hard so that on the day after the elections we don't have to hear the words, "Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi." He says that every day as if it's as offensive as me walking up to his wife and calling her the C-word. I don't know anything about his wife so I can't say if she is or isn't but I certainly can't imagine having to listen to this guy all the time. I wouldn't be at all surprised to find out that Mrs. Hannity isn't at all upset that her husband isn't home more often. "Another speaking engagement in Peoria Sean? No problem. Take all the time you need dear. You're a great American."

Imagine this guy..... His worst nightmare is apparently having to refer to Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House. It's like one of those skits on "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" where the crowd comes up with a bogus, ridiculous emergency and the cast has to act as if it's a big deal. At least on that show you know it's all for laughs. With Sean it's deadly serious stuff. What on Earth has Nancy Pelosi done that's so vile as to have driven this guy to this viewpoint? Meanwhile he has absolutely no issues with asking Tom Delay to come visit his show all the time. It was no problem for this maggot to refer to Tom Delay as Speaker of the House. Tom Delay resigned his duty as Speaker and then resigned his seat in disgrace and we still haven't heard the end of it. Yet Sean had no issues what-so-ever with this cretin. Give me a break.

One of this other angles was that we can't possibly put the Democrats back in control of the House. If that happens the Gates of Hell will open up and the House will be dominated by hearings on the actions of future $20 bill model, George W. Bush. Imagine that? How can we survive such atrocities? Congress has so many more important things to be doing for this nation, things like debate amendments about flag burning, getting a ban on gay marriage and other similar highly-impotent, er, important topics.

Then there's his current fake and most heinous storyline. He keeps telling his listeners that there's no doubt about it, weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq. He wants apologies from everyone and then keeps bringing on struggling Congressman Rick Santorum in a transparent campaign commercial to try to give the story some credibility. He claims he can't understand why the Right isn't getting behind this story. He understands why the so-called liberal media isn't behind it but why not the Administration and those on the Right? Uh Sean, it's because this story is nothing more than your own wet dream. Has it not dawned on you (and I'm sure it has which is why this guy is so dangerous and needs to be evicted) that when George W. Bush, the Defense Department and even Fox News aren't behind the story it's because there is NO story? These weapons pre-date the last Gulf War. Also, the mustard and sarin gas that were in them is (shhh, here's a word Sean will never use in relation to this story) degraded. You'd probably be in more danger of needing a tetnus shot from a rust cut from one of these than anything else. But there's no stopping this guy. He's sure if he says it enough it'll resonate with a large enough group and then, truth be damned, it'll be a story after all.

The sooner this guy's time comes the better. I'll feel sorry for a few people then. I can't imagine how many people will be out of work that today are gainfully employed keeping his hair looking that way.

Different Source Same Scam!

Well, Fandango got back to me about an e-mail I sent regarding the Reservation Rewards scam that I managed to fall into. Turns out that my information was sent to this group by MovieTickets.com and not Fandango. They both use this same service.

Of course the e-mail made it out like my issues were no longer valid because I'd blamed the wrong company for passing my data to this third-party but that's not exactly a good excuse. They too admitted they're having the same problem with the company so clearly it works the same way for them as at MovieTickets.com.

On Monday I called the number Fandango gave me and reached a nice enough rep for Reservation Rewards. He looked up my account and said, "Your account is cancelled." I said, "I know, I cancelled it as soon as I realized there were charges involved." He then attempted to suggest that everything was in order then and started to end the call when I interrupted and asked for a refund. Obviously they've been through this process before. He didn't ask questions and immediately issued a refund for two of the three charges put on my card stating something about the initial charge being out of his control to refund. Frankly I just wanted the affair over with so I chalked up the lost $10 to a life lesson and left it at that.

Fandango Famboozle

For those who may not know it, Fandango is a company that allows consumers to buy movie tickets online. I'm not exactly sure how many chains use Fandango but the huge AMC/Loews theater in my home town uses them and we've used their service fairly often.

Some time ago Fandango partnered with another company and started spamming the process by continually offering you a chance to save money on upcoming movie ticket purchases and other services. The offer is done in such a way as to make it confusing to not choose it.

Anyway, back in April we went to see a "Over the Hedge" and bought out tickets online as we expected it to be busy for opening night and we were all running behind that day. In a rush I inadvertantly clicked on the box to join "Replay Rewards" and little else happened. I'd get an e-mail every so often saying I could take part in some savings that didn't seem like much of a savings and that was about it. I never bothered to take them up on any of it.

Then today my wife was going over our checking account and said, "Rich, any idea who 'WLI Reservation Rew' is?" I'd never heard of them so I did a quick Google search and immediately found several hits all denoting the company as rip-off artists. Further checking of our account shows three $10 charges to our account during the month of June alone. Others have been hit for larger amounts and the frequency seems entirely erratic.

Anyway, I then traced this back to Replay Rewards. Nothing in the process of signing up mentions a fee. In fact, nothing on their site mentions it except a small reference to charges in their Terms of Service agreement in a corner of their website.

In other words, I bought tickets on Fandango and they felt it was a good idea to go and give my credit card information to another company--a company well known for being an online scam artist.

I called Fandango and reached a representative today (Sunday!) and he didn't even hesitate. He said, "Oh, I agree with you completely. We're getting all kinds of calls about this and I expect we'll be doing something about it soon." He claims that if I call an 800 number he gave me that Replay Rewards will immediately refund my money. I have my doubts.

Stay tuned and be careful if you use this service or others like it. I'm certain that Replay Rewards doesn't only partner with Fandango.