Digital Trends

Vonage Broadband Telephone Service

January 19th, 2004 | by Jeff Fila

Billing

Vonage billing is done only by credit card which may make the service unattractive to some potential customers. Your credit card is billed in advance for the month's service. Since everything is done online, you can instantly view all charges in your “Dashboard”.

The bill is presented electronically but you can choose a printer-friendly version if you prefer to keep a printed record.

Vonage charges a $29.99 setup fee and one month service up front and the taxes and surcharges are minimal. The average customer not in New Jersey seems to pay about $2.25 in fees and charges in addition to their monthly fee. Since Vonage is located in the Garden State, New Jersey residents are subject to taxes.

No added taxes, fees or charges on a phone bill? How long can this last?

We tested the Vonage service using Road Runner cable internet service in Albany, NY. A typical AT&T telephone customer in Albany pays $30.23 for basic service and over $6.00 in taxes and surcharges. That is before features are added. For example, call waiting is $4.95. A sample phone bill that we compared to was $41.61 for the month of December and this only included the call waiting feature.

Verizon also offers telephone service in Albany and charges $44.95 for a local basic package including a choice of five calling features.

As you can see, Vonage seems to offer the better deal if you compare price alone. The “Local Unlimited” plan is about $5 cheaper than the AT&T service and that even includes 500 minutes of long distance. Add to that the host of features and Web services and it looks like a no-brainer. But it may not be for everyone.

Vonage offers a great incentive to sign up and refer others to sign up. For every person you refer that signs up for Vonage service, they will get a free month and your bill gets credited for the based on the plan they sign up for. Sign up twelve friends and you can have free service for a year.