I just signed up to the service after trying out Broadvox for 14 days. I liked having Broadvox, very good call quality, setup was easy as pie. However, my first choice of VOIP carrier was Sunrocket, which is why I ditched Broadvox and jumped to Sunrocket. At first I was under the impression that service to my area was not available, as per the "Availabality check" page, but more about that confusing situation later.
Specifically in my case, Sunrocket wins the day over other VOIP's for these reasons:
1. Price - Unlimited local and national calling plus 100 free bonus minutes to my mother in Germany for under $17.00 can't be beat.
2. The free phones. A nice bonus which saves me an already planned purchase of a multi-base cordless 2-phone system at $60 or $70. I was ready to purchase Sunrocket without the phones, but, hey, even better. A tip for those looking for Uniden phone codes: Just call any customer service rep to order the service and mention "those 2 promotional phones" and they'll include it with your order without the need for a code, at least that was my experience.
3. Second "signature" number included. My wife needs "her" personal phone line. Broadvox included this "distinctive ring" number for free as well, but most others (Vonage, Packet8, etc.) charge an extra $5.00 for this. In addition, unlike Broadvox which only includes the secondary phone number but nothing else with that service outside of a distinctive ring, the Sunrocket "signature" line comes with its own voice mail box and can be customized almost as much as the "primary" line as for call hunting, forwarding, voice mail notification and virtually all other features. This works much closer to having paid for a true second POTS phone number coming in on the same outlet.
4. No setup fee (unheard of in VOIP land,) no cancellation fee, no taxes, no shipping fee, no penalties = no risk. No commitment, despite the appearance due to the $199.00 upfront cost, as a full pro-rated refund is promised upon cancellation for any reason. I like the concept of only paying for true consumption, not any of the other fluff that is designed to make it harder to leave if something better comes along or one is dissatisfied. With Broadvox I had to pay only for the $11.00 shipping cost, as I was just at 14 days (their required cancellation date to avoid paying setup fees.) That is fair, but with SR there is zero shipping cost, even better.
5. Packet of features that when looked at in its entirety trumps other provider's offerings. In addition to the typically offered featured such as Caller ID, Call Waiting, 3-way, etc. Sunrocket has some unique or advanced features: Signature Message Screener with the ability to screen calls and accept calls while the caller leaves a message, advanced voice mail notification and retrieval options (via cell, e-mail, IM,) call hunt, do not disturb, anonymous call reject, etc.
For me each of these 5 points would have tipped the scale towards Sunrocket in comparison to any of the other services. Combined it became a no-brainer. I considered Lingo, but after reading mostly negative reviews online put them aside. Broadvox came with a decent set of features, but not nearly what SunRocket offers at lower price, same with Packet 8, Vonage.
That is in theory, as I have not received my gizmo and starter kit as of yet, but if what most here have apparently experinced with Sunrocket holds true with me, I'll be a happy camper.
Back to my initial problem signing up with Sunrocket. When I started researching VOIP about a month ago I wanted to jump onto the Sunrocket and kiss my Verizon service at about $60 per month goodbye. I was stopped in my tracks by Sunrocket's sobering message on their "Availability check" website that service to my area was currently unavailable. I called customer service and was advised that, indeed, my calling area couldn't be serviced yet. I moved on to Broadvox. A couple of weeks later I received Sunrocket's special offer in the mail ($199.00/yr. plus 2 free phones.) I decided to call SR to find out if the situation had changed as for my area being included in Sunrocket's calling area, but again was told that, regretfully, my area was still not serviceable. They said that they showed "Tampa South" in their area plan, but no numbers with it. The CSR representative speculated that there "may have been some numbers, but they must have been all given away. Sorry." I hung up, puzzled and frustrated that I would receive a flyer in the mail for a desired product that I had no access to. Then I thought to go to the "Availability Check" page again and try the local extension that was given to me by Broadvox when they assigned local "temporary" numbers to my service, and PRESTO, it was AVAILABLE. I tried the same exchange with services that had previously come up as "unavailable" such as Voicepulse and they came up as AVAILABLE. So I called Sunrocket back, told the CSR that using another exchange my area is indeed serviceable, and ordered my care package on the spot.
Maybe some of those who believe that service is not available in their area because of what they have been told by a CSR or what comes up on the "Availability Check" page should try different exchanges until they find one that comes up as AVAILABLE. Sunrocket may be losing many potential customers by not having a system in place that checks for the entire area code (as long as it is not long distance) instead of just a limited exchange area. My experience using a different exchange when checking may help others do likewise. I assume that VOIP's have been assigned packets of exchanges. In my example (Tampa) Broadvox' use of the 624 exchange tipped me off to try the same with Sunrocket.
Specifically in my case, Sunrocket wins the day over other VOIP's for these reasons:
1. Price - Unlimited local and national calling plus 100 free bonus minutes to my mother in Germany for under $17.00 can't be beat.
2. The free phones. A nice bonus which saves me an already planned purchase of a multi-base cordless 2-phone system at $60 or $70. I was ready to purchase Sunrocket without the phones, but, hey, even better. A tip for those looking for Uniden phone codes: Just call any customer service rep to order the service and mention "those 2 promotional phones" and they'll include it with your order without the need for a code, at least that was my experience.
3. Second "signature" number included. My wife needs "her" personal phone line. Broadvox included this "distinctive ring" number for free as well, but most others (Vonage, Packet8, etc.) charge an extra $5.00 for this. In addition, unlike Broadvox which only includes the secondary phone number but nothing else with that service outside of a distinctive ring, the Sunrocket "signature" line comes with its own voice mail box and can be customized almost as much as the "primary" line as for call hunting, forwarding, voice mail notification and virtually all other features. This works much closer to having paid for a true second POTS phone number coming in on the same outlet.
4. No setup fee (unheard of in VOIP land,) no cancellation fee, no taxes, no shipping fee, no penalties = no risk. No commitment, despite the appearance due to the $199.00 upfront cost, as a full pro-rated refund is promised upon cancellation for any reason. I like the concept of only paying for true consumption, not any of the other fluff that is designed to make it harder to leave if something better comes along or one is dissatisfied. With Broadvox I had to pay only for the $11.00 shipping cost, as I was just at 14 days (their required cancellation date to avoid paying setup fees.) That is fair, but with SR there is zero shipping cost, even better.
5. Packet of features that when looked at in its entirety trumps other provider's offerings. In addition to the typically offered featured such as Caller ID, Call Waiting, 3-way, etc. Sunrocket has some unique or advanced features: Signature Message Screener with the ability to screen calls and accept calls while the caller leaves a message, advanced voice mail notification and retrieval options (via cell, e-mail, IM,) call hunt, do not disturb, anonymous call reject, etc.
For me each of these 5 points would have tipped the scale towards Sunrocket in comparison to any of the other services. Combined it became a no-brainer. I considered Lingo, but after reading mostly negative reviews online put them aside. Broadvox came with a decent set of features, but not nearly what SunRocket offers at lower price, same with Packet 8, Vonage.
That is in theory, as I have not received my gizmo and starter kit as of yet, but if what most here have apparently experinced with Sunrocket holds true with me, I'll be a happy camper.
Back to my initial problem signing up with Sunrocket. When I started researching VOIP about a month ago I wanted to jump onto the Sunrocket and kiss my Verizon service at about $60 per month goodbye. I was stopped in my tracks by Sunrocket's sobering message on their "Availability check" website that service to my area was currently unavailable. I called customer service and was advised that, indeed, my calling area couldn't be serviced yet. I moved on to Broadvox. A couple of weeks later I received Sunrocket's special offer in the mail ($199.00/yr. plus 2 free phones.) I decided to call SR to find out if the situation had changed as for my area being included in Sunrocket's calling area, but again was told that, regretfully, my area was still not serviceable. They said that they showed "Tampa South" in their area plan, but no numbers with it. The CSR representative speculated that there "may have been some numbers, but they must have been all given away. Sorry." I hung up, puzzled and frustrated that I would receive a flyer in the mail for a desired product that I had no access to. Then I thought to go to the "Availability Check" page again and try the local extension that was given to me by Broadvox when they assigned local "temporary" numbers to my service, and PRESTO, it was AVAILABLE. I tried the same exchange with services that had previously come up as "unavailable" such as Voicepulse and they came up as AVAILABLE. So I called Sunrocket back, told the CSR that using another exchange my area is indeed serviceable, and ordered my care package on the spot.
Maybe some of those who believe that service is not available in their area because of what they have been told by a CSR or what comes up on the "Availability Check" page should try different exchanges until they find one that comes up as AVAILABLE. Sunrocket may be losing many potential customers by not having a system in place that checks for the entire area code (as long as it is not long distance) instead of just a limited exchange area. My experience using a different exchange when checking may help others do likewise. I assume that VOIP's have been assigned packets of exchanges. In my example (Tampa) Broadvox' use of the 624 exchange tipped me off to try the same with Sunrocket.