Speakeasy.net Review

In 2004 I ditched my phone line and have never looked back.

Ever since VOIP became an option, I've been using the service. I started out with Vonage, but after a couple of years, I decided to switch my VOIP to my internet service provider - Speakeasy.net (I already had DSL service through them).

What is VOIP?

VOIP - Voice Over Internet Protocol - is having your regular telephone service delivered through your internet connection. You get a small device that you hook-up to your internet connection and plug your regular phone into. Once the service is up and running, you dial and receive calls just like you would with any POTS line (Plain Old Telephone Service). The only difference that I've noticed is that the sound quality is better. One thing that most old style telephone companies won't tell you is that they have been using VOIP to route your long distance calls for some time.

Speakeasy.net also claims that they use their own network to ensure the quality of the service.

There are a couple of things that you need to be aware of:

1. your phone service is reliant on your Internet connection being up and running - so if you have frequent outages, VOIP is not for you (that is also another reason I went with Speakeasy.net - their up time is phenomenal and since they provide the VOIP service, it's in their interest to keep my DSL line up)
2. 911 calling - e911 or enhanced 911, ensures that the correct emergency service office is connected and that your address information is sent to the emergency service personnel that you are calling. If the VOIP provider does not provide e911 - skip them. Speakeasy.net provides e911.
3. if you lose power to your house and you don't have a battery to maintain your internet connection - your phone line goes dead.
   

Just to give you an idea of the quality of the service, one day I was talking to a friend of mine who worked at large US telecommunications company in their telephone switching department (they make the hardware and software that routes regular phone service) - he noted that the audio was especially good during our conversation, I mentioned that I had recently switched to VOIP...and not only that, I was talking to him via a speakerphone. He was impressed!

Another perk of my VOIP service is that I pay a flat fee $27 per month. All local calling, long distance within the US and to Canada is included in that flat fee. So my kids can pick up the phone at the begining of the month and call their grandparents in Canada and hang up at the end of the month - my cost above the my flat monthy fee for the service = $0. This is quite a savings over my previous phone bills from SBC/Ameritech/AT&Twhich averaged $70 to $90. For that matter, Speakeasy now includes free calling to a total of 22 countries (Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom).

Speakeasy's customer service is second to none, so should you ever run into any issues, they're just a phone call or e-mail away.

Bottom line - I would recommend Speakeasy's VOIP service without any hesitation both for home and business.

http://www.speakeasy.net