I am looking at setting up VOIP for a senior citizen and would like some advise on hardware. Background: The Lady had a landline for over 45 years and with bundling (internet, TV and phone from the same ISP) got a discount on the landline (instead of $45/mo, we got it at $9.95 for 2 yrs, then $14.95 for the next 2 years). Now the ISP says that her bundle does not qualify for a discount (back to $45/mo without any features). Needless to say, this is predatory, so she canceled the phone plan. She does not have a voice plan and does not want a cell phone, however needs phone. Current setup: The lady only has a laptop (no router) and the internet is an LTE hotspot (Netgear AirCard S763) at 5GB/mo. The Lady does not want the Smart TV (which is currently on cable) connected to the internet. Smart Lady. Researching: She would like Ooma. This is her choice. Currently on order: Ooma Air Telo Free Home Phone Service with Wireless and Bluetooth Adapter. As the Lady's Netgear AirCard does not have Ethernet, I also ordered a NETGEAR N300 WiFi Range Extender (WN3000RP) as it has an Ethernet adapter - to get some hard wire into this config. - and some signal stability. Setup: I am looking at connecting the Ooma to the Ethernet Adapter on the extender. The wireless adapter should coordinate with the LTE hotspot. I'll connect the landline phone to the Ooma. Will this work without a router? So much of what I have read has a router in the mix.
It is not really predatory, but it sure feels like it. I hate these discount bundle plans that sucker you in for a year or two, then wham! The prices go way up after that time period is over. I too have had a landline for long time (almost 30 years). Without exaggeration, I get junk mail almost every day from Cox Cable (my TV and Internet Provider), CenturyLink (my landline company) and DirectTV wanting me to move to their bundles. I bet my bills would drop $30 at least if they were not spending all this money on these mailings. I'm not a tree hugger but I am sure a few forests could be saved too. I have always liked the idea of having redundant means of communicating but I've been thinking of cutting my landline too. I will be interested in what others have to say in response to this thread. I have always recommended using a router, even with networks of 1 computer just for the significant layer of security a router adds. But it looks like your intended setup will work without one.
If anyone is interested ... The hardware arrived Friday (re: opening post) and I set it up today. I was concerned that I would need a router, but no, it was not needed. The Extender was easy to setup and so was the Ooma. I used the Ethernet connection to my PC to do it. I then switched the Ethernet cable over to the Ooma and plugged in the Ooma USB wireless adapter. It took about 10 minutes at most. I got the Ooma activated and connected to their network via their website. The 4G LTE WWAN picked up the Ooma immediately. I plugged the landline phone into the Ooma. Got a new number and made one outgoing local call. I can not recommend the Ooma or the Extender at this time, as this is day one. However, all is operating as advertised right now. Billing will be $3.98/month. The Lady is very happy. She made an outgoing call and got an incoming voicemail. Good so far.
The call I made was very clear (no difference than a POTS connection). I asked the person at the other end if the call was clear for them and they said it was excellent, although they could hear a slight hum in the background. The voicemail we listened to was also excellent quality. She is expecting an incoming call from family overseas (they will be using a cell phone ) - that is the test I am most interested in. I'll update you when I hear back on that.
@Bill_Bright Bill, the Lady got an incoming call from her family today (from a cell phone in Uluru to Canada). The quality was excellent at both ends. Call duration 32 minutes. No background hum this time. There is no QoS setting available with the Ooma.
First, I had to look up Uluru. I didn't know that was the same a Ayers Rock. It seems like Ooma is the way to go. I don't want to go cell phone only. I really like having a home phone (with extensions throughout the house) and not keep my cell glued to my hip. But I am really tired of paying almost $75/month. It would be $50 if they didn't tack on another $25 in "Related Monthly Charges, Taxes, Fees & Surcharges".
