SunRocket VoIP *Everybody is reporting that this is DEAD!* (Free phones, extra number, etc.)

[stuman74]

I called SunRocket and the transfer is complete. Called Vonage to cancel and didn't have any issues doing so. I hope SunRocket continues as a great and reliable service! Can't beat $199 for two full years!

 

[astrosfan90]

Originally posted by: stuman74
I called SunRocket and the transfer is complete. Called Vonage to cancel and didn't have any issues doing so. I hope SunRocket continues as a great and reliable service! Can't beat $199 for two full years!

Nice! Glad to hear it. I think you'll be happy here.

 

[dchakrab]

This is a short version of something I posted in the political forum, but I think it's of relevance to anyone using VOIP (or anyone using the internet, period).

Here's a link to my original post: Save The Internet Thread.

We're literally on the verge of losing the internet as we know it. There are bills being passed right now that give the telcos unprecedented rights to filter and sort content into tiers, charging for access.

What does this mean?

It means that I may not be able to use Sunrocket, for example. Comcast might decide (and why wouldn't they?) that they want me to use Comcast's VOIP service instead, and simply not allow competing providers on a Comcast internet connection. Or, what's more likely, they'll allow them...and charge them. So Sunrocket will pay to connect to the internet (which they pay anyway) and then pay Comcast protection money to get their service through to me...resulting in my Sunrocket plan suddenly being much, much more expensive.

Why is this fair? I pay for my Comcast internet connection. Sunrocket pays for their connection and their bandwidth, as does Google and everyone else, right down to the pittance I pay for my own website. The telcos now want to play highwayman and charge even more, in the middle, to maximize their profits at no cost.

I called Bobby Rush's office and told them my Bobby Rush voodoo doll wasn't looking too good right about now, and the staffer I spoke with said that this was a necessary move, as a result of immense pressure from his constituency to lower cable bills.

Lower cable bills? Where is the guarantee that this is going to lower anything? All I see is that very soon, I'm going to have to pay *more* for my internet connection, my phone lines, and any other service I want to use on the internet. Google may have to pay more to provide search services, which is going to mean a lot of people paying more for advertising and other services so Google stays afloat. Small businesses are going to vanish completely, since they don't have the cash to pay the highwayman. And individuals like me, with a blog online, are going to give up on it completely...since there's no way I can pay an ISP to allow access to my blog. That was what I paid my hosting costs for, and what Google pays *their* hosting and bandwidth costs for.

Think this is ridiculous? It gets a lot worse, and it's happening right now, while you're reading this. Our heroic leaders are getting worried since more and more people are becoming aware of this issue and are fairly unhappy about it.

Ideas? Any way to get Sunrocket's opinion on this, maybe even coordinate some kind of letter writing campaign with SR and other VOIPs? SR's forayed into all kinds of guerilla blogging tactics in the past...this one's where it's going to count.

Visit my other thread for more info on this, and visit the coalition being formed to try to address this (includes Alyssa Milano, among other bloggers): Save The Internet.

Ideas, thoughts, responses?

Dave.

 

[laketrout]

dchakrab- Its a terrifying thought, isn' it? Almost as bad a feeling in the pit of my stomach when Apple released Bootcamp (allowing Windows on a Mac, for those that haven't heard).

I was flipping through PC Mag, and noticed that SunRocket is going to look at doing PC-to-PC VOIP, so I wouldn't worry quite yet. They'll have a workaround no matter what happens.

That said...yes, SOMETHNG needs to be done. I'm glad you brought this up.

 

[dchakrab]

Originally posted by: laketrout
dchakrab- Its a terrifying thought, isn' it? Almost as bad a feeling in the pit of my stomach when Apple released Bootcamp (allowing Windows on a Mac, for those that haven't heard).

I was flipping through PC Mag, and noticed that SunRocket is going to look at doing PC-to-PC VOIP, so I wouldn't worry quite yet. They'll have a workaround no matter what happens.

That said...yes, SOMETHNG needs to be done. I'm glad you brought this up.

PC to PC VOIP isn't a workaround, Laketrout. How could it be when you're still using the same providers for your internet service? SBC could just as easily block access to MSN or any other PC VOIP system and insist you use Yahoo messenger. For that matter, they could block all IM except for Yahoo, and then force MSN / AIM / Jabber to pay up to lift the block. Or they could just slow down everything but Yahoo, in an effort to make users switch. Time Warner could fight back by doing the same with any IM other than AIM. I wouldn't be surprised if Yahoo suddenly adds the ability to use MSN and AIM networks (like Trillian, Adium, gAIM, and several other multi-protocol chat programs) and insists that you use their program to talk to those networks, or face slowdowns or blocks on other software. For that matter, wouldn't MS love to pay SBC to simply slow down internet access for consumers with non MS operating systems?

All of this becomes fair play if that bill goes through.

Georgepa, you've probably got the best connections with SR. Would it be worthwhile to come up with a SR petition for this, that SR could maybe present to the legislators who are deliberating on this? They won't be alone...everyone from CraigsList to Google to the National Gun Owners Association are joining forces on this one.

Thoughts?

Dave.

 

[dchakrab]

Incidentally, SR's VP says that it's hard to believe that the government would allow this kind of discrimination when players like Google and Amazon would suffer as a result (in the article posted).

I think this is interesting...is there that kind of apathy even at the corporate level? This bill specifically prohibits the FCC from enforcing net neutrality issues, making them powerless in the event of a corporation doing precisely that. The defense put forward is that otherwise we're regulating the internet, which we shouldn't be doing, and that there is no history of telcos dscriminating against other providers.

Right. I have this mental image of an 800 pound gorilla looking down at a bruised kid covered in bandages going "honest, ma, don't watch over us all the time, I won't pound the #%##@ out of him" with his fingers crossed behind his back. Anyone want to draw a cartoon?

D.

 

[RideFree]

Yeah, we all know that the jackals(lobbyists) are yowling and screeching at the doors of every congressperson from Boeing, GE, MSNBC, Lockheed-Martin, Time-Warner, etc. in order to legitimize the rape of the internet.

My solution is: The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers.
Wait, Shakespeare said it in King Henry VI.
It?s been 400 years, don?t you all think we?d better get started??

Edited: If Shakespeare were alive today, he'd have included the lobyists:evil: in his suggestion.

 

[Kelemvor]

Originally posted by: stuman74
I called SunRocket and the transfer is complete. Called Vonage to cancel and didn't have any issues doing so. I hope SunRocket continues as a great and reliable service! Can't beat $199 for two full years!

$199 for two years?!? Where's that deal?

And yes I'm with SR I signe dup a while back but didn't port my number just in case I didn't like it. So then we liked it fine so I submitted to then have my number ported.

 

[georgepa]

FrankyJunior-

They are running this special deal as it appears on major hoilday weekends. Next opportunity to get in on it is July 4th. Simultaneously they have something for existing customers where you can get an extra year added for $99. The $199 for 2 years deal is obviously a great deal ($8.29 per month.) The only thing is that your pro-rated refund only works during the first year. The second year is considered a bonus-year, so they would not give any type of credit during that year (should you want to cancel.) I decided just to add another year for $99 during one of those special weekends, did not want the work of porting my existing numbers within network. That $99 add-on is fully refundable at any time should one wish to cancel, and while that year is in progress (that period starts for me from April 2007 to April 2008) it is also subject to a pro-rated refund.

 

[Kelemvor]

Well, I've been a customer only for a few months so I could just cancel and then resign up right? That is a great deal. I just have the standard $199/12mo right now. hmm.

 

[agrall]

Anyone got any tips on getting in on a promo deal when switching from month-to-month to the annual plan?

Every time I call and ask about switching to the annual plan - they want to forward me to customer service - and you know how helpful they are...

 

[RideFree]

agrall,
I believe if you call from any number but your S/R # and respond to the touch-tone cues as a potential new customer, that you will be routed to their Canadian sales team. There you will find folks who are not only conversant in English but apparently have a degree of latitude with regard to getting you into the system "your way" instead of the slow, agonizing, grinding-you-down that occurs at the hands of "customer service".

 

[agrall]

I've done that - but as soon as I mention switching to the annual plan - they want to transfer me to customer service.

 

[RideFree]

If you called at the right time of the billing cycle, you could appear as a new customer and then port your old # over and cancel the $19.95 deal after the annual deal is solidified.
Edited: I mean that then you would only lose a portion of your $19.95, having received part of the month's service.

 

[agrall]

Transfer sunrocket to sunrocket?

 

[georgepa]

A friend of mine has had SR for over a year now. She is happy with it. There was just one quirk: She could not call her own SR line from her cell phone. The cell is a Verizon line, but it used to be with Cingular before she ported it over (she was fed up with Cingular and switched.) The strange thing was that other cells could call her SR number (even Cingular) and also that with her cell she could call my SR # and her son's. She had opened tickets and also went through Cingular, then Verizon to see if she could fix the glitch. At one point about 6 months ago Cingular did something to fix the issue, but that lasted only 1 week, the it went back to the problem. Well, her SR renewal was coming up a couple of weeks ago, so I suggested instead of renewing with the 13 months deal actually ordering new service (the 15 months for $199 deal) and that may fix the problem she was having. Order was placed and a few days later she got the equipment and was able to make and receive calls. I called the SR porting expert (Carrie Barr) and explained the situation and asked for # transfer. She was able to do it right there on the spot. Within minutes the numbers were ported from one account to the other. Calls could be made and received, and the cell phone issue has disappeared, accessing her SR # from her cell works now like it should.

So, in-network porting of numbers seems to be very fast. It may also fix a persistent, quirky issue that nobody seems to have an answer to.

 

[laketrout]

dchakrab- you're right. Totally right, I don't know WHAT I was thinking when I wrote that! hah!

I must have been in the throes os a stupidity fit.
As you said, there are hundreds of thousands of people associated with this movement, how has all of it come together thus far? I'm assuming lobbyists and a grass-roots web campaign are involved in the project?

 

[laketrout]

Yeah, I've heard of people doing that as well during certainly "promotional periods" or deals that they have going on. I guess you have to be pretty quick on the mark with that thing.
georgepa- glad to hear your GF likes SunRocket- I think it does a pretty good job (considering the technology is still relatively new for consumer use). I've never actually tried to call a SR number like that...interesting quirk! Glad to see SR was able to sort it out though.

 

[dchakrab]

Originally posted by: laketrout
dchakrab- you're right. Totally right, I don't know WHAT I was thinking when I wrote that! hah!

I must have been in the throes os a stupidity fit.
As you said, there are hundreds of thousands of people associated with this movement, how has all of it come together thus far? I'm assuming lobbyists and a grass-roots web campaign are involved in the project?

Yes. Savetheinternet.com is a good example...there are a lot of people banding together into a coalition (or coalitions) to try and counter this, including Google, Amazon, and CraigsList. Even the Gun Owners Association of America joined in. Everyone from ultra conservative Republicans to Democratic liberals and all the in between seems to agree that this is just a really, really bad idea. Except for the large telcos, of course.

Next thing to do is look up your representatives / senators / governor / anyone else and give their office a call. Talk to their staffers and tell them this is something you are watching carefully, and that you are extremely upset at the way in which the net neutrality amendment was struck down. Savetheinternet.com has a list of which legislators voted to uphold net neutrality and which ones sold the internet out to the telcos. Tell your legislator they're a sellout, or congratulate them for not selling out, as the case may be. But tell them, because people calling in is really, really important.

Other than that, I'm open to ideas. I like Ridefree's ...lobbyists, especially telco lobbyists, definitely seem to produce nothing good or worthwhile in this world.

Dave.

 

[RideFree]

Originally posted by: dchakrab
...Other than that, I'm open to ideas. I like Ridefree's ...lobbyists, especially telco lobbyists, definitely seem to produce nothing good or worthwhile in this world.

Dave.

But, how do we start a totalitarian, democratic, magnanimous government from scratch? It?s obvious that ours is completely FUBAR!
Or, is totalitarian, democratic, magnanimous government an oxymoron like giant shrimp & military intelligence?

Edited: We now return this thread to S/R. Mine is working great:thumbsup: but I know of one that is not yet perfect. :thumbsdown:

 

[georgepa]

$99 add-on deal may be better than initially thought:

In March I renewed with SR and paid $199 for another 13 months plus asked and received 2 free 2-phone systems (thanks for the tip about asking for free phones with the renewal, Agrall ) Then, in the afternmath of April 1st's "$199 for 2 yrs." deal I took advantage of the special $99 deal SR had for existing customers and added yet another year to my account. Thus, my deal was: $298 paid for 25 fresh months with 2 phone systems included. I was ok with that deal but on Friday noticed that I had not been charged the $99 add-on fee as of yet. So, I called SR to double-check the status of my account, hoping my $99 add-on year (to start in April of 2007 and to go to April of 2008) did not fall through the cracks somehow. Well, after calling sales to obtain the necessary info (or complain loudly and insist to still be eligible for the $99 add-on year) I was surprised to learn that my account showed that I am actually on the 2-year $199 plan, which runs from April 2006 through April 2008. No wonder I was never charged the add-on $99. I was simply converted to the 2-year plan, using my $199 renewal money from March. I DID get an extra month out of it (for a total of 25 months) plus the free phones, so the deal probably could not have been any better for myself.

Now it makes me wonder if I was just lucky or if other folks who added that $99 extra-year during either of the two SR -2year promotions are finding that they were simply converted to the $199 for 2 years deal as well? It may be worth checking with SR about that $99-add-on and posting here what you find out.

 

[astrosfan90]

Originally posted by: georgepa
$99 add-on deal may be better than initially thought:

In March I renewed with SR and paid $199 for another 13 months plus asked and received 2 free 2-phone systems (thanks for the tip about asking for free phones with the renewal, Agrall ) Then, in the afternmath of April 1st's "$199 for 2 yrs." deal I took advantage of the special $99 deal SR had for existing customers and added yet another year to my account. Thus, my deal was: $298 paid for 25 fresh months with 2 phone systems included. I was ok with that deal but on Friday noticed that I had not been charged the $99 add-on fee as of yet. So, I called SR to double-check the status of my account, hoping my $99 add-on year (to start in April of 2007 and to go to April of 2008) did not fall through the cracks somehow. Well, after calling sales to obtain the necessary info (or complain loudly and insist to still be eligible for the $99 add-on year) I was surprised to learn that my account showed that I am actually on the 2-year $199 plan, which runs from April 2006 through April 2008. No wonder I was never charged the add-on $99. I was simply converted to the 2-year plan, using my $199 renewal money from March. I DID get an extra month out of it (for a total of 25 months) plus the free phones, so the deal probably could not have been any better for myself.

Now it makes me wonder if I was just lucky or if other folks who added that $99 extra-year during either of the two SR -2year promotions are finding that they were simply converted to the $199 for 2 years deal as well? It may be worth checking with SR about that $99-add-on and posting here what you find out.

How come george has all the luck and fun toys?!?

Sheesh. You wanna call in to renew my line for me?

 

[dchakrab]

Service is out for me (Chicago, IL) ...two restarts, and still no dial tone. Anyone else? Noticed it at 10:45 am central.

Dave.

 

[stuman74]

Originally posted by: dchakrab
Service is out for me (Chicago, IL) ...two restarts, and still no dial tone. Anyone else? Noticed it at 10:45 am central.

Dave.

Dave,

I'm in the far NW suburbs (Cary) and didn't have any issues as of 9am. I am at work now, but if my wife has any issues, I'm sure I'll hear about it later.

 

[Macro2]

How are fax machines working on SunRocket these days. I have a Canon L80