Ooma usage question

[groze]

If Ooma provides free phone over the internet. Why is their a 3000 minute limit per month? Aren't the calls carried over the internet? There should actually be no limit.

 

[z3r010]

Maybe it's to prevent abuse and stop people using the services for telemarketing etc, tbh 3000 minutes is a lot of talking.

 

[Barman58]

I think it's more than likely Bandwidth related, the Internet is not an unlimited resource, and it is certainly not free - the company have to purchase bandwidth from the companies running the data centers, and backbones, (even If they are using their own backbone, they would need to maintain it), The 3000 minutes is probably the best user catching figure that the company can make a decent profit on, and it gives wiggle room to upsell

I have a Mobile Phone, (Cellphone), contract that gives me totally unlimited outgoing, and incoming calls and Texts to & from any Landline or Mobile Phone anywhere in Europe, (Incoming calls inclusion is important because ... (not sure of US), but here in Europe international calls received are charged partly to the Caller but mostly to the person called )

Edit

Just done the calcs and that gives me up to ~43800 minutes a month, Oh and 4GB of 4G Net access (approx 12-20 Mb/s) is also included

 

[ignatzatsonic]

If Ooma provides free phone over the internet. Why is their a 3000 minute limit per month? Aren't the calls carried over the internet? There should actually be no limit.

Yes the calls are carried over the Internet.

What's free about the Internet?

You can't do anything with an Ooma by itself. You also need an Internet connection and a "phone company" of some type.

You pay to get the Ooma device and as far as I know you also have to use Ooma as your phone company. You are locked into them once you buy the Ooma. You can't choose another phone company.

There are competing devices such as from Obi that cost less up front and also let you choose your phone company. The phone companies have various calling plans and packages just like any phone company would. I don't use the phone much--maybe an hour or 2 a month.

I use Callcentric as a "phone company".

My total costs are 3.45 per month plus about a dollar an hour that I'm actually on the phone (incoming or outgoing; local or national; including 911). If I used the phone thousands of minutes per month, I'd certainly get a different plan with the same phone company. Obi has several devices and a basic one-line model can be had for as low as 30 bucks on sale at Newegg.

Prior to getting the Obi, I was using Cox phone service as part of my TV/Internet package. Cox phone is also "over the Internet" (VOIP). The Callcentric service is just as reliable. I still use Cox as my Internet provider and if my Internet goes down I have no phone service. But that's nothing that Callcentric or Obi can control. The Cox phone service was about $15 per month.

I just got rid of Cox cable TV as well and am now using a Roku 3 in addition to over the air stations through a $30 indoor antenna. My Cox monthly bill has gone from 201 down to 75. The Roku was about 90--a one-time expense.

 

[Joan Archer]

I'm not worried about overseas coverage as I don't receive or make those type of calls. I have to use the mobile service that works in my area and that's Vodafone, oh and there's no 4G and only just 3G. I have unlimited texts, 500MB Data and 500 minutes calls for £22 a month but that included a new handset, I got the Lumia 830.

There are other mobile providers in the area but not all of them work here, Vodafone doesn't work at all in the next village, which is a couple of miles away, but Orange did and others are hit and miss.

Even if you use Skype, that's only free if you are calling another Skype user otherwise you have to pay.

 

[groze]

I am still confused even after reading about VOIP and why they charge or deduct minutes for service using the same internet connection. I am not sure I am correct on this. I may have found a reason why there is a limit its because of calls that are switched off to mobiles or landlines but VOIP to VOIP shouldn't count against the limit but I think it still does.

I am thinking of going with the Magic Jack plus.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

I am still confused even after reading about VOIP and why they charge or deduct minutes for service using the same internet connection....................I am thinking of going with the Magic Jack plus.

As a for-profit outfit, I'd guess they charge because the traffic will bear it and you are free to find some other solution as any consumer would. They could charge nothing if they chose to, but they choose to charge. You can choose as well.

Re Magic Jack: be sure to pound Google for comments about it. I saw a lot of variation (to put it mildly) when I investigated all of this a couple of years ago.