VOIP SunRocket Internet Phone Service $199 for 15months = $13.27/month

[astrosfan90]

Just logged into my SR account to check on a few things and got greeted with this message:

SunRocket would like to make sure that you are aware of the features and limitations associated with SunRocket 911 service. A recent FCC ruling requires all VoIP providers to notify customers of the limitations associated with their 911 service in comparison to traditional 911 service and to record each customer's understanding and acknowledgement of these limitations.

SunRocket currently provides Enhanced 911 service to many of our customers. With Enhanced 911, the emergency operator automatically receives the name, address, and origination phone number of the caller. SunRocket plans to provide Enhanced 911 to all subscribers by November 2005.

Some SunRocket customers are currently receiving Basic 911 service. Basic 911 does not automatically transmit the name, address, and origination phone number, so the caller must provide this information to the emergency operator. In addition, Basic 911 calls may go to an emergency administrative office instead of an emergency service dispatch, meaning that there is a greater chance that your call may not be handled properly or in a timely manner.

The following limitations apply to both Enhanced 911 and Basic 911 when phone service is provided by SunRocket:

* SunRocket 911 service will not function if the gizmo is not configured properly or if your SunRocket service is not functioning for any reason. This includes a broadband or electrical power outage or if your broadband, ISP, or SunRocket service is suspended or terminated. In addition, in the event of a local disaster, there is a greater possibility that a SunRocket 911 call will produce a busy signal, fail to be completed, or experience long connection times due to network congestion.

* SunRocket 911 service will not function properly for several days after you are able to make outbound calls with your service. Because of the time it takes to properly update the 911 emergency databases, your 911 service may not be available immediately.

* If you have chosen a SunRocket Household (primary) number that is outside of your geographic calling area, 911 service will not be available. Calls to 911 service route to the appropriate emergency administrator based on the telephone number you have chosen and the geographic location that you have provided to SunRocket.

* If you move or intend to use your SunRocket service away from the geographic location you have registered with SunRocket, you must update your account with your new location. You may change your Service Address by contacting SunRocket Member Services at 1-800-786-0132. Since it may take 10 days or more to properly update the 911 emergency databases, you should NOT rely on SunRocket service for 911 emergency dialing if you are using the service when you are temporarily traveling away from home.

SunRocket is in the process of verifying the 911 status of every existing customer. If Enhanced 911 is not available in your area, you will be or have been contacted.

You should always have an alternative means of accessing emergency service.

 

[upss]

Originally posted by: georgepa

upss-

You mention that you were without phone service for 24 hrs. Did the 2 SR numbers not ?work at that point, either?

?

I meant 24 hours without incoming calls on my transferred number. My SR was working ?but since the SR numbers were temporary, I did not give them to anyone.?

 

[Daniel]

Originally posted by: georgepa
Daniel-

That exchange is indeed with GLOBAL CROSSINGS. Call their customer service at 1-800-249-4672 and explain the problem to them. If they get you to the right division they'll be able to look up your Sunrocket number and should have some info on the port itself. GLOBAL CROSSINGS was very helpful when I had my porting issue, even though it was really Verizon's fault.

Thanks George, I'll surely give them a call too. Overall I've been quite disgusted with the level of service I've gotten though. To push an issue for months on end and never even get a return phone call is totally irritating.

 

[Jlensbo]

My Sunrocket is back up, but my wife is giving me "the look" every time it goes down. She's threatening to get Verizon again. "I'll pay for it!" she says. Anybody married? I'm sure you know how THAT works!

 

[isayx3]

I just recieved this email:

Dear SunRocket Member,

SunRocket is in the process of upgrading 911 emergency service throughout our system. We have determined that the public 911 emergency dispatch center serving your address has chosen not to accept calls from Internet phone companies, unless those calls can be routed through the system established by the traditional phone company. SunRocket is pursuing alternative means of supporting 911 emergency calls, but the existing public 911 infrastructure cannot currently accommodate your situation because your service address is outside of the area traditionally associated with your SunRocket phone number.

Until we notify you otherwise, your 911 service will not work properly. 911 callers will hear a recording that instructs them to use an alternative means of reaching emergency support.

In the interim, you should ensure that you have an alternative means of contacting 911 emergency services and that all of your household members are aware of it.

 

[MisterMe]

Originally posted by: Jlensbo
My Sunrocket is back up, but my wife is giving me "the look" every time it goes down. She's threatening to get Verizon again. "I'll pay for it!" she says. Anybody married? I'm sure you know how THAT works!

Hear you brother! That's why I don't have Windows MCE on the big screen yet. Luckily though with my SR service, it has been solid as rock!!! Only hiccup was the initial trouble we had with caller ID not coming through. Now that it's fixed, I'm a hero!!! She benefits by getting another "free" dinner out me every month with the $36 I'm saving over our Verizon bill...way to go Sun Rocket!!!!

 

[NickelTitanium]

I've had more problems with my adelphia cable modem then sunrocket.

 

[RideFree]

Originally posted by: astrosfan90
Where on the SR site is that, RideFree? Do you have the URL?

You have to be signed on in order to access it so I can not post the url.

 

[mtim]

Hi,

Thanks for replying.

The us calls are working though. The international call logs do not show. Just do not want to get surprised when they dig out the international calls I have made in the past at a later date when I least expect it.

 

[georgepa]

gtfan-

You mention in a previous post that your problem with SR is/was that you sometimes had to make two calls to get to a destination, that sometimes you would get dead air or fast busy. On BBR this issue was reported by a couple of users but it seems that after the capacity upgrade (I believe SR tripled capacity over the last 2 weeks) these same users reported that the double-call issues have disappeared. Is that the case for you as well? Unfortunately we had an outage on the 11th, but if the capacity upgrade that caused the outage helps with system stability that would be good for the long haul, so I would appreciate if you could confirm whether the system has been more stable, less stable or the same since "the outage" and related capacity upgrade.


mtim-

I make about $10 to $15 worth of international call per month with SR. My FULL CALL LOGS are working now, but while they were not working I was not billed. I called CS to inquire and was told that I would not have to pay as long as I did not see my international calls listed. I made her write an entry into my account to the effect that as long as CALL LOGS didn't work I would not be charged for international, so it may be worth it for you to make a similar call just to get CS backing for your "free calls" until Call Logs are fixed. I kind of regret now having entered a ticket about my Call log issue, as I actually enjoyed the savings more than the need for exact up to the minute logs, so enjoy your free calls as long as they'll last.

 

[georgepa]

Astrofan90-

As soon as you login to your Sunrocket account at the lower right hand corner of the page you will see a feedback box. Here you can toggle between "Comment", "Appraisal" and "Complaint." From what I understand, this is the equivalent of builditbetter@sunrocket.com, but is more targeted as it links your phone number with a specific issue. The chances of something getting done fairly quick are higher using that box vs. opening a ticket with their outsourced Level 1 customer service, IMO. I had an issue/question about E-911 and entered it in that box. About 1 hour later SR's E-911 specialist called me up (showed as Sunrocket - 703-394-4150 on my Caller ID) and answered my questions. He said if I had any further questions or issues related to 911 not to hesitate to call the SR direct number and ask for him by name. That experience showed me that the feedback box is actively checked constantly for issues. Maybe it was because 911 is such an important issue right now that my question was dealt with virtually instanteneously by a highest level tech, but for now any time I have any tech question I just go through the feedback area and ask for a response (which usually comes fairly swift) rather than calling CS.

 

[Adul]

had a coworker try this. it didn't work very well for him for one reason or another. so he canceled on it.

 

[GTFan]

Originally posted by: georgepa
gtfan-

You mention in a previous post that your problem with SR is/was that you sometimes had to make two calls to get to a destination, that sometimes you would get dead air or fast busy. On BBR this issue was reported by a couple of users but it seems that after the capacity upgrade (I believe SR tripled capacity over the last 2 weeks) these same users reported that the double-call issues have disappeared. Is that the case for you as well? Unfortunately we had an outage on the 11th, but if the capacity upgrade that caused the outage helps with system stability that would be good for the long haul, so I would appreciate if you could confirm whether the system has been more stable, less stable or the same since "the outage" and related capacity upgrade.

The 'have to call twice or more' prob has gone away but in the last couple of weeks I've had to power cycle my gizmo twice when the voice light inexplicably went out. I'm not sure what's going on - my net connection has been stable but I do have the gizmo behind the router (a Netgear MR814v2). I'm hoping it's just because they're doing upgrades but honestly, george, they badly need a few months of relative stability and the voicemail rollover feature. I know that they're trying hard to provide a better service but right now I would not recommend them to anyone that I know unless they just want to go cheap.

 

[alextn]

does anyone know if i can plug my sunrocket gizmo into the my belkin router to make it work? I've tried to plug the router into the gizmo, but it's screwing up some of my port fowarding abilities. I would really like to try plugging the gizmo into the router, I did this before with vonage but haven't had sucess w/ sunrocket.
If anyone knows ho to do this, I'd appreciate the help.

Alex

 

Originally posted by: alextn
does anyone know if i can plug my sunrocket gizmo into the my belkin router to make it work? I've tried to plug the router into the gizmo, but it's screwing up some of my port fowarding abilities. I would really like to try plugging the gizmo into the router, I did this before with vonage but haven't had sucess w/ sunrocket.
If anyone knows ho to do this, I'd appreciate the help.

Alex

You'd probably just have to forward the appropriate ports. I'm not sure what those ports are, however.

 

[dundevil]

I have belkin router. I plugged the gizmo (behind the roter) into one of the four ports. Two computers into two of the other ports.
All works fine.

Dundevil

 

[georgepa]

alex-

Plugging the gizmo into the router is the preferred way, according to telco, the manufacturer of the gizmo. Simply plug your router into your modem, make sure it works (plug computer into one of the ports and see if you are on the web.) Then plug the gizmo into a router port, using the WAN port. Leave the LAN port open. That should do the trick. I have run into one router that doesn't like that setup (Speedstream,) but all others worked fine. Ive tried Dlink. Linksys, Belkin, Zyxel and Netgear.

gtfan-

Service has been absolutely stable for me in general (no issues other than FULL CALL LOGS which unfortunately was fixed) minus a couple pesky outages. The capacity upgrade to triple was meant to take care of capacity related issues. I had held off on 3 referrals after the outage on the 11th. but went ahead with all 3 yesterday, satisfied that service would be better in the future (and had been solid for me as it was minus those two outage related inconveniences. I will continue to recommend SR to customers and neighbors who fit a certain profile: Folks who have cell phones in steady use and are paying too much for little used home phone (virtually anyone I know.)

 

[astrosfan90]

Originally posted by: mtim
Hi,

Thanks for replying.

The us calls are working though. The international call logs do not show. Just do not want to get surprised when they dig out the international calls I have made in the past at a later date when I least expect it.

Given that SR recently acknowledged that they've been having issues with their international calll logging, and came out and said that no calls that weren't logged previously would be charged, I would imagine that if you're still having issues with the calls not logging properly, SR won't surprise you with a nasty bill for them. I'd still make sure to let SR know that you're having this problem.

 

[lookin4dlz]

Like he said...

Originally posted by: georgepa
alex-

Plugging the gizmo into the router is the preferred way, according to telco, the manufacturer of the gizmo. Simply plug your router into your modem, make sure it works (plug computer into one of the ports and see if you are on the web.) Then plug the gizmo into a router port, using the WAN port. Leave the LAN port open. That should do the trick. I have run into one router that doesn't like that setup (Speedstream,) but all others worked fine. Ive tried Dlink. Linksys, Belkin, Zyxel and Netgear.

 

[alextn]

just got it working.
thanks guys!

 

[laketrout]

Originally posted by: georgepa
...I had held off on 3 referrals...

Heh. You must be rolling in referrals. Where are you using up your free stuff? I am eyeing down best buy...

 

[georgepa]

I have a computer service company and have built a large client base over the years. I repair systems, virus cleanup and general maintenance, new system purchase and install, networks (wired and wireless) and web design. It is a natural for me to ask my customers "By the way, how much are you paying for your phone service?" and show them VOIP. Many have signed up over time, because they have a cell phone glued to their ears all the time and their home phone is usually an expensive dust catcher. Of course, the flip side is that the system has to be stable and satisfactory. I was sweating bullets on the 11th, I tell you that. Overall my clients have been happy with the choice. I had one customer cancel so far because it turns out his location can't get E-911 service. She was otherwise very happy with the service.

I added 2 phones to the Uniden system to make it 4. The rest I cashed in with Amazon.com. They have virtually everything, including diapers, which, with a newborn, has come in handy. Haven't tried Best Buy credits yet. I have too many toys as it is and customer merchandise I usually order online from different vendors anyway.

 

[astrosfan90]

Who knew that SunRocket service could translate into free diapers? I actually find that pretty amusing.

Anyone else buy some random stuff thanks to their RocketRewards?

 

[georgepa]

Well, I also bought my wife a Homedics Shiatsu massager on Amazon.com, plus my 8-year old wanted a T-shirt Transfer Kit. Unfortunately, my rewards have gone down to $10 a piece (after the first 8 referrals.)

 

[gibster]

Latest statement showed up for me - big fat 0. I have made probably around 15 hours of international calls in this time period - so they gave me close to $50. Nice, but like I have been saying, companies go out of business because of screwups like this. As long as they keep doing it, and are around, no problem for me. If they go under, there are a ton of replacements around...