Internet phone srevice?

[Zeke]

I'm paying $32/month to support a fax machine and take incoming calls. I can't dial out beyond my area code to achieve even this price. There has to be a better way. I have a mega cell plan, so I don't need long distance. But, it would be nice to be able to fax to adjacent area codes or call on a land line for clarity and security.

Vonage? Magic Jack?

[Zeke]

Oh, I should mention that I have Verizon FIOS, but there's another phone on that plan that can call anywhere, anytime. I'm on a wireless network in a detached office with a dedicated hard line for the phone with a separate number. Verizon doesn't seem to want to give me a break on this second phone. I could dump them.

[74-911]

Originally Posted by milt

Vonage? Magic Jack?

I've been using Magic Jack for about 8 months now for outgoing long distance calls and am very happy with it. Definitely can't beat the price. I have no experience with it re: supporting FAX however.

[exitwound]

I have used Vonage since April 2005 and it's been good. The first router I had was crap (freezing, reboots, etc) but the new phone adapter (non-router, just phone device) has given me ZERO problems since. I'm on the 500 (outgoing) minute plan for $17.99. Total after fees is $23. Everyone calls me, I make 10-20 total minutes in outgoing calls per month. It's perfect. I don't own a cellphone.

Vonage offers a FAX line too.

Vonage Fax Line provides the convenience of a dedicated fax number.
Fax Line

Tired of going down to your local office supply store to send or receive a fax? Vonage Fax Line gives you your very own fax number, so you can fax documents on any machine at your convenience. Need to fax a contract right away? No problem! Plus, you can easily track your activity on your Vonage Online Account from anywhere.

Vonage small business customers don't have to pay a thing! You get 500 free minutes of outgoing fax service, plus unlimited incoming faxes. Vonage residential customers only have to pay the $9.99 activation fee and then $9.99 a month for 250 minutes of outgoing fax service, plus unlimited incoming faxes. Want more minutes? They're yours for only 3.9 cents each! Even send faxes internationally at our low international rates.

Not sure if you have to have a phone service or if you can just get the FAX line though.

[jrdavid68]

Originally Posted by milt

Oh, I should mention that I have Verizon FIOS, but there's another phone on that plan that can call anywhere, anytime. I'm on a wireless network in a detached office with a dedicated hard line for the phone with a separate number. Verizon doesn't seem to want to give me a break on this second phone. I could dump them.

Something just doesn't sound right - that's way too much. The basic rate for a traditional, no feature land line with AT&T CA is less than $11/mo.

[Joe Bob]

Skype.....

[red-beard]

We use efax for incoming faxes. Why not try majic jack. What do you have to loose?

[74-911]

Originally Posted by red-beard

Why not try majic jack. What do you have to loose?

Although I use MagicJack and am pleased with it, MagicJack doesn't appear to be a good option for Faxing. Per MagicJacks website FAQ's, their position is:

We do not officially support using faxing with magicJack.

Please try the following steps to use magicJack with your fax (contact your fax manufacturer for details):

Turn off error correction on your fax machine or program
Set the fax machine or program to use the slowest speed available
Increase the speed, checking at each speed that faxes work

[red-beard]

Vonage has similar warnings. I use our Vonage line for outgoing faxes and it seems to work fine. I like efax on the incoming, so that we can receive our faxes, anywhere we have e-mail or web access.

It does seem funny, using an A to D on a digital voice line, then converting it back D to A, to transmit a digital message (fax).

[exitwound]

Fax is a technology that needs to die.

[74-911]

Originally Posted by exitwound

Fax is a technology that needs to die.

True Dat... especially when you can pick up a good printer/scanner dirt cheap these days.

If Vonnage has the same warnings re: FAX, it may be worth your $40 to give MagicJack a try .

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by exitwound

Fax is a technology that needs to die.

Hard copy record keeping is essential in the contracting and materials supply business. I cannot confirm the numbers on an order by email. I can't edit many forms. I can sign and/or correct a fax much easier and faster.

Pharmacies and doctor's offices use fax. I know they are into email as well, but it will only be a matter of time before that is hacked and it will be "drugs for all."

[exitwound]

Email isn't used in pharmacies. I've worked with them. They're called e-scripts for short. They're a secure, encrypted method by which doctors can send prescriptions into pharmacies without a hand-filled Rx sheet. You can't e-scribe controlled drugs anyway. They're mostly used for maintenance medications. They're sooo much faster. With fax, you have to scan in the script anyway for a visual record of the prescription, then transfer all of the dosage, drug name, sig, doctor, patient info by hand. With e-scribe, they're already filled in for you, as well as the image of the prescription. The pharmacist just has to double-check to make sure it's correctly done from the doc. Saves so much time that a full-timer was cut from the payroll at our store...multiply that by the 3000 rite aid stores...and that saves a lot of labor hour.

Your extremist view that 'drugs for all' will occur is a little inflated.

Fax is slow, very bandwidth intensive, and not reliable (dropped calls, no pickups, busy signals) compared to net software. However, I can see how the visual records needing to be maintained is imperative to business. It still needs to die.

Vonage, however, advertises the fax line as part of their service, so I'm guessing they have at least a little bit of overhead put towards development of a more solid service than MajicJack would.

[Zeke]

Inflated for now. Nothing has been sacred AFA information is concerned any longer.

I tell you what, kill your fax. I'll keep mine.

Sorry to use your business as an example. It the shoe don't fit....

[Don Plumley]

I've used eFax since it was introduced for all incoming faxes. I love being able to receive no matter where I am. I then pdf the faxes and save electronically for my records. If I need to sign, annotate, change, then I print it, scan it, and email it back to the sender.

With eFax, you don't need a dedicated inbound fax line. You can use your standard landline for outgoing faxes to those that don't have email or won't accept a signed/scanned document. So my small office has a single DSL line (~$20/month for the telco portion) that I use for outgoing faxes - I'm guessing I send one a month at best. I don't use it for voice at all.

[fxeditor]

Give google voice a try ( http://www.google.com/googlevoice/about.html ). I just got my invite a few weeks ago and am still learning all the ins and outs of the system but it seems pretty cool! It looks like I will finally be dumping the old AT&T land line!

Michael

[lendaddy]

9-1-1 service is a big issue with VOIP. I know you guys are talking about faxing, but...

[jrdavid68]

Originally Posted by lendaddy

9-1-1 service is a big issue with VOIP. I know you guys are talking about faxing, but...

Right on. Another benefit of that $11/mo traditional land line.

[Zeke]

There is no $11 land line here. Can you believe that or do I have to scan my bill and send it to you?

I have nothing, no voice mail, callID or maintenance. No long distance and no calls outside my area code. It's 32.38 every month.

[74-911]

Originally Posted by milt

I have nothing, no voice mail, callID or maintenance. No long distance and no calls outside my area code. It's 32.38 every month.

I have exactly the same service land line and I thought my bill was high at $24 a month. $32 is outrageous...