Where's Tony?

[la vache!]

Oh well, I suppose a call to FT is the best idea then- Enid, have you tried ringing 1014 to inquire?

[Alan Knighting]

Susan,

I have tried it and it confirmed exactly the tests carried out on my line at the time of installation. It also told me in metres the distance of my line from the digital exchange. In addition it gave me the same information about three suppliers other than Wanadoo.

Alan

[la vache!]

Alan,
I'm glad it worked for you - I don't have the option of anyone but Wanadoo! Paolo, are you sure your friend has an FT line, as the test won't work otherwise?

[paolo]

Susan,

I assume he does because he is on Wanadoo, but I don't know for a fact.

[vrooje]

Have you binned your traditional telephone line or do you use both?

I gleefully cancelled my traditional phone line after signing up for Vonage. It has been fine for us, but we also have our cell phones to use in case of a power or internet outage.

It's true that 911 (emergency) dialing doesn't work on a Vonage phone the same way that it does on a typical phone, but it does still work. It forwards you to the local police station, just not to the emergency operator. I actually had to use it once, and it worked fine -- but I did have to explain to the woman who answered that I couldn't call 911 in the typical way. As the technology becomes more popular and the number of people who have VOIP increases, I think it will probably become easier to dial 911 (or 999 or 17 or whatever). For now, next time I have to dial 911 I'll use my cell/mobile phone if possible, and if not the Vonage phone will certainly work.

The only other major drawback is that if your internet service goes down and you don't have a mobile phone or traditional phone, you can't call your ISP to complain about it! It's kind of funny, actually. Likewise with a power outage -- VOIP just isn't available in that case. However, I can now set an alternate number in my preferences, and Vonage will forward all calls to that phone number if there's an outage of either kind. So at least I'll be able to receive calls if that happens.

In short, I wouldn't rely on VOIP alone -- because some of the times when you really desperately need a phone are times when VOIP won't be available. But the other 99.9% of the time, I love it.

Heh, and if you didn't know better, you'd think I worked for Vonage, oui? Mais non, I'm just brand loyal in this case.

[Alan Knighting]

Brooke,

Many thanks for the detailed reply about Vonage. It makes very interesting reading and I, for one, eagerly await the arrival of the full Vonage offering in France. When I say full Vonage I mean including the dedicated telephone number so that incoming calls can be made.

The point about outage time is well taken, particularly for France where both electric supply and broadband can go down anytime during a storm.

Alan.