Any opinions here about MagicJack or other Voice over IP services? Need advice!

[NightWolve]

I had been waiting to see if I got stable Internet connectivity with Comcast and my new DOCSIS 3.1 Gigabit cable modem before considering ditching a traditional AT&T telephone landline that probably will cost $90/month with the upcoming $5 dollar 911 tax for Chicago residents...

The new modem seems to have fixed my issues along with making good use of the new copper ground rods I had installed - good grounding of your cable line is very important to prevent TCP packet loss from interference!

Anyway, can someone please give me some reviews on any of these VoIP telephone services ?? How do they compare to traditional telephone lines ? It certainly should be better than a cellphone if you have good upstream with your ISP I imagine, but how much worse compared to a traditional land line ?

http://www.magicjack.com/index.html

I have been looking at MagicJack for years now, but my old modem for the last 2 years couldn't give me 24/7 always on performance so I never trusted the idea of switching to VoIP... But as stated, the conditions are right to ditch AT&T finally, just need advice/reviews/tips.

Thanks!

[esteban]

I can’t help *specifically*, but I can offer an endorsement of your plan.

I ditched traditional landline 8-10 years ago...I didn’t have any problems (at times, the audio quality seemed degraded compared to copper lines, but not a problem understanding conversations), but I was using Verizon’s own VoIP product...once the battery-backup (provided by Verizon) ran out of juice (during a blackout),  I no longer had VoIP.

Two years ago I ditched VoIP. Now I just have a family cellular phone plan.

No cable TV, no VoIP.

I should note that my wife works from home and is constantly in phone conferences...and like I said, VoIP never was a problem for her.

I DON’T have any love for Verizon, but the services for VoIP were at least adequate.

Don’t get me started on the absolutely frustrating experiences with their cable/FiOS “promises” vs. reality, though...

[BigusSchmuck]

Any particular reason why you would want to use VOIP over a cell phone? Hell, if you have good enough internet service, why not just use something like Google Voice on your pc/tablet/celluar device?

[xelement5x]

Unless you really want a home phone then I recommend just switching to a cell phone.  Personally I keep one for a couple reasons, but use Ooma as my VOIP provider.  You pay an upfront cost for the hardware and then just the FCC fees after that.  They also have a PRO version of the service that is really nice and lets you blacklist/whitelist numbers if you want, and their mobile app allows you to get your home calls on your cell phone as well if you want them.