Experiences with VoIP providers

[DanHarrison]

Having done some research, there appear to be 3 VoIP providers worth considering:

http://www.voipfone.co.uk/
http://soho66.co.uk/
http://gradwell.com/

I know that we have someone from VoipFone frequenting these forums. However, I'd appreciate any feedback from any of the above services.

I'm currently leaning towards soho66, as I had a few headaches dealing with voipfone customer services. (took 4 attempts to get them to answer my simple questions).

Thanks
Dan

 

[Optegris]

I'm surprised you had a problem with Voipfone CS as they answered endless dumbass questions from me

I haven't tried out the other two but I switched from another long term provider to Voipfone and haven't looked back. Granted their interface is somewhat cluttered but the features and line quality more than make up for that IMHO...

 

[DanHarrison]

I'm surprised you had a problem with Voipfone CS as they answered endless dumbass questions from me

I haven't tried out the other two but I switched from another long term provider to Voipfone and haven't looked back. Granted their interface is somewhat cluttered but the features and line quality more than make up for that IMHO...

What I like about voipfone is that they appear to be damn good at what they do. However, their interface (content and colour scheme) makes it exceptionally painful to get an idea of a monthly price.

However, Soho appear to have a very simplistic interface and information on the website, which leaves me a little concerned about expertise.

Dan

 

[Jenni384]

We're with Gradwell and find their customer service excellent.

The lines are sometimes dodgy but I suspect that's our bumpkin internet rather than their service.

 

[Optegris]

What I like about voipfone is that they appear to be damn good at what they do. However, their interface (content and colour scheme) makes it exceptionally painful to get an idea of a monthly price.

However, Soho appear to have a very simplistic interface and information on the website, which leaves me a little concerned about expertise.

Dan

I would take line quality and features over a "pretty" website any day of the week. It's one of those things that once you have it all setup and working you kinda forget about it.

Example, it took me about two hours to:

1) Establish the initial Voip line
2) Reconfigure my Snom 870 (which is painful to do)
3) Setup my IVR and hunt groups
4) Create all my voicemail and diverts
5) Fiddle around with the "Call me back" feature (which has had a near 50% closure rate on sales I might add)

Now I can leave it to do it's stuff...

 

[soupz]

Hi,

I signed up to Voipfone 2 days ago and ordered a local 020 number to forward to my mobile. The cost was £1.99 per month and no set up fees.
The customer service is brilliant, I called up on a few occassions and the staff where very helpful indeed.

The website is a bit cluttered and the options can be a bit daunting but if your stuck, call the support number and they will help you.

BTW there is a free trial service when you sign up for free which will give you a number and free calling credit. You can use this to test the line service for yourself.

John

 

[Jenni384]

5) Fiddle around with the "Call me back" feature (which has had a near 50% closure rate on sales I might add)

That's interesting. I'm going to see if that's available on our service.... Thanks!

 

[estwig]

I been with voipfone for over two years, brilliant!

 

[Optegris]

That's interesting. I'm going to see if that's available on our service.... Thanks!

It's worth it although I have freaked a couple of customers out

My phone rings within about 5 seconds of them submitting the form with their number and then connects me straight through to the customer. They're like "I though it might take hours for you to call!!" which has really helped conversions...

 

[DanHarrison]

Hi,

I signed up to Voipfone 2 days ago and ordered a local 020 number to forward to my mobile. The cost was £1.99 per month and no set up fees.
The customer service is brilliant, I called up on a few occassions and the staff where very helpful indeed.

The website is a bit cluttered and the options can be a bit daunting but if your stuck, call the support number and they will help you.

BTW there is a free trial service when you sign up for free which will give you a number and free calling credit. You can use this to test the line service for yourself.

John

Yeah, I expect the line quality to be fine. When I approach a company, and their pre-sales support is rubbish, I worry about the technical support if something bad happens.

Voipfone have disappointed me already, so it's going to take a lot for me to shift my thinking.

Dan

 

[quikshop]

We used VOIPFONE for some time. There is nothing wrong with their core service provision, I can't remember ever experiencing any downtime and the customer service right up until the final issue was always good.

However we had endless problems using their software phone in a networked environment.

After weeks of trying to get it sorted (including changing our router), it was finally admitted that the software phone is not good enough to use in a business environment.

Having moved to Skype, we have no conflicts when more than 1 Skype account is being used in the same office at the same time, and the delay between speaking and receiving is far less than we experienced with Voipfone.

 

[Optegris]

Pre-sales and tech support are different beasts, one is a sales person and the other is a geek

Not that I've even had to contact tech support yet...

 

[Optegris]

@Dave - Did you not try a hardware based phone instead? I'm yet to find a software phone that isn't pants...

 

[Dominic Taylor]

Software-phone wise they're all rubbish - nothing can replace a proper phone. We use Cisco and Snom phones and they're great.

Voipfone is excellent too - we had an obscure problem which they helped us with very efficiently.

It still amazes me how complex VoIP is, and studying the whole arena in detail back in uni made my head hurt!

 

[DanHarrison]

Pre-sales and tech support are different beasts, one is a sales person and the other is a geek

Not that I've even had to contact tech support yet...

Yep, probably. But I look at a business as a whole. I don't want to waste time moving to a different provider basically. I'd rather make a decent step towards getting it right in the first place.

Dan

 

[DanHarrison]

Niiiiiicee.. Just looking at Voipfone now, and spot a PHP error. Ooops!

Parse error: syntax error, unexpected T_STRING in /var/www/includes/Site_Left.php on line 24

 

[quikshop]

@Dave - Did you not try a hardware based phone instead? I'm yet to find a software phone that isn't pants...

The Skype software is excellent, none of the problems with it that we encountered with the Voipfone software.

I think the thing that irked us the most was that it was repeatedly suggested that the problem was somehow with our network set-up, or the router, or something else at our end.

It took a lot of time and messing around before we finally got an admission about how unsuitable for business their software phone is.

We did consider their 'real' phone but by that time we'd lost any trust in their ability to deliver.

I know all too well that as a business becomes more successful, the number of unhappy customers increases regardless of what you do. It just so happens that with Voipfone we were one of those unhappy customers.

 

[Optegris]

Well sounds to me like you've made your mind up Dan. I'm just speaking from a real world experience...

 

[DanHarrison]

I would take line quality and features over a "pretty" website any day of the week.

I agree about pretty-ness. However, if the website doesn't allow me to purchase what I need in the first place, then that's a big problem.

Well sounds to me like you've made your mind up Dan. I'm just speaking from a real world experience...

Actually, I haven't really. I was hoping to be swayed more to voipfone (as I suspect they are the best). Some of the things you've said indicate they are good. But my personal experience (even using their website now), is driving me a bit mad.


Dan

 

[Optegris]

Well all I can say is give them a blast, it's a rolling thirty day contract so nothing really to lose.

I found it was easier to work out my pricing by opening a free account and then upgrading...

 

[rrr120]

I used soho 66 for about two years.

They were absolutely superb. Calls always answered. Had a couple of problems (usually after I'd fiddled with the call routing options) and they always answered, sorted it and got back to me within an hour at the most.

One of my favourite things was that you could choose the number before you signed up (this might be available elsewhere)

I've moved on now, but when I need a VOIP service again I will definitely use them.

 

[akirk]

another happy voipfone user here - we had a great conversation with them before buying - bought the Siemens DECT phones which operate as normal cordless phones as well as VOIP

works well - we do though have good upstream internet and a router which gives priority to voice and ringfences bandwidth... - all of which helps

no issues with them

Alasdair

 

[bagelbox]

I can recommend a tiny company called Telecoms Network. They're very reasonable. Drop me a PM if you're interested and I'll give you his details.

 

[HostThree]

VOIPFone are excellent but we've recently moved over to Soho66 as well because of a service they offer.

Can't fault either of them to be honest.

 

[KM-Tiger]

It's worth knowing that with VOIP you don't have to use a single supplier.

Most of the hardware phones can configure more than one 'account', and if you use reputable suppliers the hardware is not locked to them.

Obviously only one supplier can route your incoming number, but nothing to stop you making outgoing calls with another. I use 3 here for various purposes.

 

[cjd]

Odd feeling this, a bit like being sat invisibly in a room with all your teachers talking about you

Edit: I should add that all softphones are poor in comparison to a real phone. We're beginning to think that they cause us more trouble that they're worth; they're only there to play with really - not to run a business.

I also agree that both the public website and the online control panel need to be improved - we've lived with them too long - and it now looks like the control panel will get it this side of Christmas. (Looks pretty damn good actually - I'll try to find a way of giving customers a pre-view when we're a bit closer.)

 

[Gotum]

Well that read was a bit like the ripping yarns episode on Spear and Jackson tools. I feel quite tired now should have read that just before going to bed :O

 

[humptynumpty]

We're with Gradwell and find their customer service excellent.

The lines are sometimes dodgy but I suspect that's our bumpkin internet rather than their service.

Hmmm, we have the same problem with Gradwell. We're in the Pure Offices building in Swindon, where there is a very good and not-at-all-bumpkin-like internet line.

The management of the building are going to be ditching Gradwell in the next couple of months.

James

 

[Jenni384]

Hmmm, we have the same problem with Gradwell. We're in the Pure Offices building in Swindon, where there is a very good and not-at-all-bumpkin-like internet line.

The management of the building are going to be ditching Gradwell in the next couple of months.

James

I've got a support call logged with them, I did a line test and our line is not good enough for VoIP. I suspect I need to reconfigure our router but I thought I'd done it and it's still not good. So maybe it is bumpkin internet here in Pewsey (it's not actually, its 5Mbps down, 0.35up which I thought was ok....). Willwait to see what they suggest.

 

[KM-Tiger]

So maybe it is bumpkin internet here in Pewsey (it's not actually, its 5Mbps down, 0.35up which I thought was ok....)

It's not just speeds that count, packet loss and jitter are as important to VOIP quality.

When you make a VOIP call, your voice gets chopped up into packets of data which are sent across the network to the other party. The packets need to arrive in the right order and in a fairly consistent time frame to be successfully decoded back into audio. If some of those packets are dropped or arrive out of order, you get that 'choppy' sound which you have probably heard.

So how does web browsing and email work OK but VOIP not? VOIP sends those data packets using UDP which is a fire and forget protocol. The packets are sent with no check on whether they have arrived or not. Web browsing and email use a different protocol, TCP, which does check that each and every packet has arrived. If it hasn't it gets resent, so you always get a complete web page or email.

 

[he_who_dares]

Slightly off the original thread, but has anyone had any experience with Vonage? They are offering unlimited UK calls (not mobiles) for £5.99 a month. I am looking for a voip system for my sales team and am a bit worried that at that price the line quality maybe compromised??

 

[estwig]

It's not just speeds that count, packet loss and jitter are as important to VOIP quality.

When you make a VOIP call, your voice gets chopped up into packets of data which are sent across the network to the other party. The packets need to arrive in the right order and in a fairly consistent time frame to be successfully decoded back into audio. If some of those packets are dropped or arrive out of order, you get that 'choppy' sound which you have probably heard.

So how does web browsing and email work OK but VOIP not? VOIP sends those data packets using UDP which is a fire and forget protocol. The packets are sent with no check on whether they have arrived or not. Web browsing and email use a different protocol, TCP, which does check that each and every packet has arrived. If it hasn't it gets resent, so you always get a complete web page or email.

Damn you Sir, learning me new things on a Friday afternoon!!!

 

[Businesswise Solutions]

Daisy have started to really push their Voip services since their acquisition of BNS.

Could be another option for you?

 

[ServersandSpares]

Slightly off the original thread, but has anyone had any experience with Vonage? They are offering unlimited UK calls (not mobiles) for £5.99 a month. I am looking for a voip system for my sales team and am a bit worried that at that price the line quality maybe compromised??

We have started to look seriously today for another Voip provider, gave Vonage a call, got through to a non UK call centre, they couldn't understand a word we were saying so can you imagine what it would be like if you had a problem? Didn't see the price before we called but that's probably why! A big NO NO for us.

We are currently with Voipfone, but in the 9/10 months we have been using the service we have had numerous issues, logged well over 80 support calls, some answered and dealt with swiftly and some not. Had problems all day today, have not been able to receive external calls for much of the day due to calls jumping from phone to phone, dead as you answer them or seriously poor quality, not yet rectified. The customer service line today was *check the forum for updates* , that is so not good customer service and I have no idea where *the forum* is!

I'd be interested to know if anyone uses a voip provider for business successfully with 10+ lines?

Julie

 

[cjd]

Well Julie, I've just spent some time looking at your account, talking to some of the support people that you've spoken to and i've had my tech director talk to Jason, your tech guy.

And it looks like we've made quite a few procedural mistakes trying to resolve your problems, for which I apologise.

The good news is that it looks likely that all your problems are down to a wrongly configured router on your network.

What I now have to do is get my head around why we've made such a song and dance about finding and fixing your problem. At first glance it seems that we often couldn't talk to anybody that was in a position to help us fix it, but just as importantly, we failed to follow up a support call to see if what we had suggested trying had worked.

Anyway, my director will call Jason again tomorrow when he's fiddled with your router - we will sort this out for you one way or another.

Colin

 

[ServersandSpares]

Hi Colin,

Thank you for the reply, however, I have to disagree with some of your points.

Somebody called me the afternoon I posted to speak to me but I was too busy to talk. Jason however was and always is available, as was Terry.

After all the suggestions, we have changed routers three times, have changed settings on numerous occasions, and all to still be experiencling the same problems. We are currently using two different routers and two separate internet lines to see if that would help solve any issues but it hasn't.

I have no doubt whatsoever that you try to be as helpful as possible, however, what I can't understand is why there are so many of the same issues that keep re-occurring. And the service is down again as we speak and has been for almost an hour, so again no incoming or outgoing calls.

Julie

 

[cjd]

Yes, we have a problem right now and we now know that it's the same one we've had intermittently for a couple of weeks. Our load balancers are in some trouble.

The good news is that now we know what the problem is it will be fixed permanently. The bad news of course is that at the moment it's causing a problem. If you temporarily put your phones on divert they will work.

Keep an eye here for updates:

https://www.voipfoneuserforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4131

 

[cjd]

It's now fixed - hopefully forever.

 

[Dominic Taylor]

Thanks cjd.

 

[kulture]

I use both soho66 and voipfone. I have not had any trouble with either. The only practical difference between them for me is the price. Soho66 offer unlimited landline calls for a fee and voipfone (last time I looked) does not.

There may be other features/benefits that differ between them, but I don't use them so cannot comment. I would happily recommend both.