Vonage VoIP Service
I think it’s the time to go over the latest changes in Vonage offers. Vonage, as one of the pioneers in VoIP field, is constantly making improvements to its phone service in order to ensure its customers are getting the best for the price they pay for any of Vonage calling plans. This would include both introducing new features, and changing existing or creating new calling plans.
So let’s see what going on with Vonage lately.
Earlier this year, Vonage has made changes to its offer by removing Vonage Lite plan, and introducing a new one, so the calling plan list looks as follows:
Residential Domestic Calling Plans
- Vonage U.S. & Canada Unlimited – $14.99/mo. for 3 months then $24.99/mo. plus taxes & fees (some conditions apply)
- Unlimited local and long distance in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico.
- Vonage Extensions™ – extend this calling plan to any phone, even mobiles, at no extra charge.
- Unlimited readable voicemail transcriptions sent via text and email.
- Caller ID, Call Waiting, Anonymous Call Block, 3-Way-Calling and tons of other standard features.
- Unlimited incoming phone calls AND Vonage-to-Vonage calls.
- 411 Enhanced Directory Assistance included.
- Online Account Access to manage your features and service.
- Portability. Take your Vonage adapter anywhere there’s a high-speed Internet connection and use your service just like at home.
- Keep your existing phone number.
- Vonage U.S. & Canada 750 – $19.99/mo. plus taxes & fees
- 750 minutes of outbound local and long distance home phone service across U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico and just 3.9¢ for each additional minute.
- Special low rates to 10 countries including Philippines, Guatemala and Jamaica.
- Vonage Extensions™ – extend this calling plan to any phone, even mobiles, at no extra charge.
- Unlimited incoming phone calls AND Vonage-to-Vonage calls.
- Voicemail, Caller ID, Call Waiting, Anonymous Call Block, 3-Way-Calling and tons of other standard features.
- 411 Enhanced Directory Assistance included.
- Unlimited readable voicemail transcriptions sent via text and email with Vonage Visual Voicemail.
- Online Account Access to manage your features and service.
- Portability. Take your Vonage adapter anywhere there’s a high-speed Internet connection.
- Keep your existing phone number.
- Vonage U.S. & Canada 300 – $11.99/mo. plus taxes & fees
- 300 minutes of outbound local and long distance home phone service across U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico and just 5¢ for each additional minute.
- Special low rates to 10 countries including Philippines, Guatemala and Jamaica.
- Vonage Extensions™ – extend this calling plan to any phone, even mobiles, at no extra charge.
- Unlimited incoming phone calls AND Vonage-to-Vonage calls.
- Voicemail, Caller ID, Call Waiting, Anonymous Call Block, 3-Way-Calling and tons of other standard features.
- Online Account Access to manage your features and service.
- Portability. Take your Vonage adapter anywhere there’s a high-speed Internet connection.
- Keep your existing phone number.
- Vonage Pro – $34.99/mo. plus taxes & fees
- Unlimited local and long distance in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico.
- Includes calls to landlines in Italy, France, Spain, UK and Ireland.
- Vonage Extensions™ – extend this calling plan to any phone, even mobiles, at no extra charge.
- International Rates as low as 1¢ per minute.
- Vonage Companion, which allows you to make and receive calls from any computer with a high-speed Internet connection.
- Unlimited readable voicemail transcriptions sent via text and email.
- 411 Enhanced Directory Assistance included.
- Voicemail, Caller ID, Call Waiting, Anonymous Call Block, 3-Way Calling and tons of other standard features.
- Online Account Access to manage your features and service.
- Portability. Take your Vonage adapter anywhere there’s a high-speed internet connection.
- Keep your existing phone number.
Residential Domestic/International Calling Plans
- Vonage World – $14.99/mo. for 3 months then $25.99/mo. plus taxes & fees
- 60 countries with unlimited¹ calling to landlines included.
- More than 10 countries and territories with unlimited calling to mobile phones – even India.
- Vonage Extensions™ – extend this calling plan to any phone, even mobiles, at no extra charge.
- Unlimited local and long distance home phone service across the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico.
- Unlimited readable voicemail transcriptions sent via text and email.
- Caller ID, Call Waiting, Anonymous Call Block, 3-Way-Calling and tons of other standard features.
- FREE Vonage-to-Vonage calls.
- Online Account Access to manage your features and service.
- Portability. Take your Vonage adapter anywhere there’s a high-speed Internet connection and use your service just like at home.
- Keep your existing number.
- World Premium Unlimited – $54.99/mo. plus taxes & fees
- 80 countries with unlimited calling to landlines included.
- More than 40 countries and territories with unlimited¹ calling to mobile phones – including UK, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Colombia & Brazil.
- Vonage Extensions™ – extend this calling plan to any phone, even mobiles, at no extra charge.
- Unlimited local and long distance home phone service across the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico.
- Unlimited readable voicemail transcriptions sent via text and email.
- Caller ID, Call Waiting, Anonymous Call Block, 3-Way-Calling and tons of other standard features.
- FREE Vonage-to-Vonage calls.
- 411 Enhanced Directory Assistance included.
- Online Account Access to manage your features and service.
- Portability. Take your Vonage adapter anywhere there’s a high-speed Internet connection and use your service just like at home.
Small Business Calling Plans
- Vonage Small Business Premium Unlimited – $49.99/mo. plus taxes & fees
- Unlimited local and long distance in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico.
- Includes calls to landlines in Italy, France, Spain, UK and Ireland.
- Vonage Extensions™ – extend this calling plan to any phone, even mobiles, at no extra charge.
- Dedicated fax line with 500 minutes of outgoing fax service (3.9¢ for each additional minute), plus unlimited incoming faxes.
- Convenience. With Simul-Ring® you can choose up to five other numbers anywhere in the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada to ring immediately when someone calls your Vonage number.
- Voicemail, Caller ID, Call Waiting, Anonymous Call Block, 3-Way-Calling and tons of other standard features.
Online Account Access to manage your features and service. - Portability. Take your Vonage adapter when you travel and use it wherever there’s a high-speed Internet connection.
- Vonage Small Business Basic 1500 – $39.99/mo. plus taxes & fees
- 1500 minutes of outbound local and long distance business phone service to anywhere in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico and 3.9¢ for each additional minute.
- Vonage Extensions™ – extend this calling plan to any phone, even mobiles, at no extra charge.
- Dedicated fax line with 500 minutes of outgoing fax service (3.9¢ for each additional minute), plus unlimited incoming faxes.
- Unlimited incoming and Vonage-to-Vonage calls.
- Convenience. With Simul-Ring® you can choose up to five other numbers anywhere in the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada to ring immediately when someone calls your Vonage number.
- Voicemail, Caller ID, Call Waiting, Anonymous Call Block, 3-Way-Calling and tons of other standard features.
Online Account Access to manage your features and service. - Portability. Take your Vonage adapter when you travel and use it wherever there’s a high-speed Internet connection.
Vonage Calling Features
Vonage offers probably the best VoIP features that are already included into the price of any of its calling plan than any other VoIP provider in any of the countries where Vonage serves its customers. Besides included Vonage features, there are also add-on features, depending on the plan selected.
Free Vonage Calling Features
I’m not sure why Vonage still states just over 25 included calling features when I actually see no more nor less than 37, as follows:
- Vonage Extensions™
- Vonage Visual Voicemail ®
- Caller ID with Name
- Call Waiting
- Vonage Voicemail Plus ®
- Call Transfer
- Call Waiting with Caller ID
- Vonage Online Account
- Network Availability Number ®
- Enhanced Call Forwarding
- SimulRing ®
- 3-Way Calling
- Caller ID Block
- Call Return
- Do Not Disturb
- Anonymous Call Block
- Repeat Dialing
- International & Directory Assistance Block
- Moving with Vonage
- Call Hunt
- Ring Lists
- Vonage Access Number
- Bandwidth Saver ®
- Click-2-Call ®
- 211 Calling
- 311 Calling
- 411 Calling
- 511 Calling
- 711 Calling
- 811 Calling
- 1-700-WEATHER
- 1-700-GREETINGS
- Refer-A-Friend ®
- Move Your Number
- Number for Life
- In-Network Calling
- 24/7 Customer Support
Of all of the features above, the Vonage Extensions is a new one which allows you to extend your Vonage plan to the any phone you want. This means, any additional phone, including a mobile, can work with an Extension at no extra charge so you can start saving money on international calls.
Add-On Vonage Calling Features
The calling features below are if you want to enhance your Vonage plan, based on your needs:
- Annual Prepay – Saves money if you pay your Vonage service annually. As of today, it says that the annual cost for Vonage World would be $269.99, for Vonage Pro $335.99, and for Business 1500 $$399.99. This makes the savings for Vonage World to be 10%, while it’s 20% for Vonage Pro and Business plans. Not bad.
- Fax Line – If you have a residential plan, and need a fax line, you can get it for $9.99 per month. For that Price you get 250 minutes of outgoing fax service, plus unlimited incoming faxes. Business plans already include more than that.
- Virtual Number – A very cool feature which allows you to have a number of another geo location. For example, you live where the area code is 412, and most of your family lives where the area code is 563. You get a virtual number with area code 563, and none of your family has to pay long distance fees when they call you. It’s a local call for them. The price varies from $4.99 to $9.99 per month, as this is not available just for U.S. numbers, but of some other countries as well like Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Poland, Puerto Rico, Romania, South Africa, Spain, and United Kingdom. I’m sure that we can expect other countries to be added over the time.
- Add A Line – Simple as that, if you need more than one number, you can add it from within your account online. You get questioned about if you would use your existing or new phone adapter, and what plan you would use.
- Vonage Softphone ® – For $9.99 per month, you can add Softphone Plan which allows you to download software onto your computer (PC or Mac) which you can use when on the road. The plan includes 500 minutes of U.S. nationwide long distance and calls to Canada every month. There is one time activation fee of $9.99 plus applicable taxes and fees.
- Toll Free Plus ® – This is another way of enabling free calls to your residence. With this feature a caller simply calls your Tool Free Number just like any else and does not pay anything. A Toll Free Number costs $4.99 a month (plus taxes and fees) for 100 minutes. If you exceed the 100 minutes, the cost is 4.9 cents for each additional minute. There is a one time activation fee of $9.99 plus applicable taxes and fees. This is great when you have kids or other family members away from home. The calls to Tool Free Plus number can be made from U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, Guam, or the US Virgin Islands.
Vonage Phone Service – Round Up
After digesting all of the Vonage calling plans and features listed above, I would say that there should be something for almost any type of a caller, being that local, domestic, or international. Plus, there is something for small business, too. And like with any other service, the best is to get well informed before making the final decision.