Q: I just read your answer to a FAQ that you received in 2007 about Ooma. If your notice of Ooma is always the same, could you please explain why you say that over VoIP "standard" services are a better option (as Ooma) for consumers who are looking for a replacement real land line?
a: Ooma has changed its business model somewhat since its founding, but yes, we still think most consumers can get more value for their money on a traditional VoIP service. The price of Ooma may look great on the surface, but when you read the fine print, there are a couple of catches. First, we will deal with the differences in service. I will use VOIPo here for comparison purposes.
SERVICE
Ooma: Ooma offers a very stripped Service: Free calls to most US data, identification caller, voicemail, and call waiting. If you want additional features, such as voicemail by email, cloned a second line, three-way calling, call blocking, free calls to Canada, or access to international calling plans, you will need to pay for Ooma Premier, which costs an additional $ 119 per year or $ 9.99 per month. Ooma will also charge you $ 39.99 to port your phone number unless you sign up for Ooma Premier, who gives up that charge.
VOIPo: VOIPo offer almost all these features as part of its basic plan, including voicemail by email, three way calls, call blocking, do not disturb, free calls to Canada, 60 free international minutes per month free number porting and 69. * You should update to access advanced calling features.
PRICING
But suppose you decide that you do not need these extra features. Surely, stripped-down Ooma be cheaper than VOIPo? Not so.
base, "Free" Ooma v VOIPo :. Even if you do not sign up for Ooma Premier, you'll still pay taxes on your service each month, which vary from place to place. For our offices based in San Francisco, taxes and fees would be $ 6.38 / month with Ooma, according to their website. At this price, we would not see the savings choose Ooma on VOIPo for over five years, and we would spend more than double on Ooma on our first two years because of their cheap VoIP Telo adapter. Let's take a look at the breakdown of costs for a client who has a regular Ooma service in San Francisco compared to using VOIPo:
Even considering that VOIPo the cost goes up to $ 149 / year after our promotional price for the first two years is up, we do not recover the extra we spent on the Ooma service until we enter our sixth year of service . Assuming Ooma continues to evolve its service, the introduction of new devices like the current model, the Telo, which recently replaced the original Hub, it seems possible that we may need to buy a new camera the company within six years, which would negate the smaller economies that we had managed to accumulate. And keep in mind, we have barely broken even for five years of service with much less functionality, calling more in Canada and abroad, and a lot of initial investment.
Ooma Premier v VOIPo :. If you decide to add Ooma Premier and get comparable functionality of VOIPo, while it would eliminate the initial charge for porting a number, $ 9.99 / month plus taxes and fees, Ooma Premier costs over VOIPo even without the cost of Telo . For users in San Francisco, Ooma Premier plus taxes and costs of fees $ 16.38 / month, which is almost triple the $ 6.88 / mo VOIPo with taxes and fees in the two first years , and almost $ 4.00 / month more than the standard VOIPo rate of $ 12.42 / month. In addition to the more expensive service Ooma charged consumers $ 199.99 for the Telo, a device comparable to the ATA VOIPo send you free.
CONCLUSIONS
So to recap, while the "free calls with no monthly fee" sounds good, the fine print makes Ooma perspective of much more expensive than the most consumers are waiting. unless you plan to stay an Ooma customer for at least a decade, you probably will not save much money, even if Ooma maintains its current pricing structure and does not require you to put update all your equipment during this period. for these reasons, we generally recommend a VoIP service "standard" as VOIPo on Ooma for customers replacing a land line.
Got more questions about the VoIP, check our FAQ, the comparison table, or some previous blog posts. You can also leave us a question or a comment in the comment field below.