POTENTIAL NEW USER---NEED INFO PLEASE !

[jenom]

I am thinking of signing up for your VOIP service, but I would like to verify ,that I clearly understood what is provided.

A) What I currently have :

1)Using 3web/Distributel cable internet service (Rogers Line)and their VOIP for home phone
2)I have an un-locked Linksys/Sipura SPA2100 ATA device (2 line) for VOIP
3)codec used is G711u
3)my local phonenumber is a 905 number (Mississauga---Streetsville or Clarkson)

B)Your service will provide after buying a one time $50 Configuration Settings

1)a local canadian phone number ( I need a local number in Mississauga---Streetsville or Clarkson-----905 or 289 area code)
2)no monthly fee
2)unlimited local incoming calls
3)unlimited outgoing local calls
4)call display

Please advise !
Thanks!

[FONGO_mike]

Hi Jenom,

Your service will provide after buying a one time $50 Configuration Settings

1)a local canadian phone number ( I need a local number in Mississauga---Streetsville or Clarkson-----905 or 289 area code)
2)no monthly fee
2)unlimited local incoming calls
3)unlimited outgoing local calls
4)call display


The answer to all of these is "Yes"

[Jake]

You could probably bring your existing number with you (porting) for anther 25$

(don't forget the prices do not include TAX)

[jenom]

thank you for all the replies
since all sounds good, already signed up online
after my payment of $56, within few minutes, I was able to see SIP settings in my account
only changed username/password/server in SPA2100 and it worked like a charm
called Customer service, they verified that my Distributel/3web phone number is ok to port, and then emailed me a LOA form for the porting t, and charged me another $28
Already returned completed & signed LOA, along with requested account info.

now my only dilemma is, what to do with my current service ?
unless I cancel my Distributel/3web account by Jan 15, they will bill me on Feb1 for a new month.
meanwhile my service will be up & running until Jan 31
According to the received email, porting can take 3-4 weeks, so maybe just enough time.
However, if there are any delays in porting, my old account gets closed, and I will lose my old number and the $28
Any suggestions ?

[FONGO_steve]

You'll want to keep your existing service active until you have received notification from us that the porting is completed. If you call Distributel and issue a cancellation order prior to that time then a hold will be placed on the number and we will not be allowed to port it.

[victorg]

In a short way about what Steve wrote, is recommended to cancel after the number is ported, otherwise Distributel/3web will reject the porting request and you will lose the number and the 28 k.

[TheHardy]

now my only dilemma is, what to do with my current service ?
unless I cancel my Distributel/3web account by Jan 15, they will bill me on Feb1 for a new month.
meanwhile my service will be up & running until Jan 31
According to the received email, porting can take 3-4 weeks, so maybe just enough time.
However, if there are any delays in porting, my old account gets closed, and I will lose my old number and the $28
Any suggestions ?

a) welcome aboard!
b) as Steve and Victor mentioned, DO NOT CANCEL your old # until you have received confirmation of the port out!! You will only create all kinds of trouble if you do that! Steve is correct in saying that if the other carrier even gets a whiff that you are leaving, they can play dirty pool and bugger up your port-out (not that this always happens, but it has and continues to, sometimes unintentionally!).

Worst case, you may be stuck paying an extra month for your 3web/distributel acct ....
One suggestion, and this has worked on mobile providers, is to DOWNGRADE your service to the cheapest possible plan if you know you will be stuck paying a month of overlap service ... this does NOT place any HOLD (or anything) on the account which would interfere with the port-out, and it can save you a few dollars in the meantime.

Unfortunately, this is one of the problems that pops up sometimes. I could suggest some less scrupulous ways around being re-billed too, but that would not be fair and karma can really be a mean mean old mistress...

Good luck, hopefully the timing all works out -- sometimes the ports can go quickly, other times, not so quickly!

[jenom]

Thank you for all for the great suggestions--I definitely will not cancel my service !
The critical point is here, how willingly 3web/Distributel co-operates and its beyond my or FPL control.
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However, I am very curious , what exactly 3web/Distributel would do when they receive a porting request ?
Do they cancel my service automatically ? (without a phone number, they can not really provide "home phone" service !)
Also, my service is a "package", called Home Phone with Free Internet.
So if they cancel "Home Phone" service, are they going to shut down my Internet too? or they will switch me to one of their only Internet plan ?
I guess, I have to give them a call to find out, otherwise one day I might find myself without Internet !

[FONGO_steve]

Thank you for all for the great suggestions--I definitely will not cancel my service !
The critical point is here, how willingly 3web/Distributel co-operates and its beyond my or FPL control.
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However, I am very curious , what exactly 3web/Distributel would do when they receive a porting request ?
Do they cancel my service automatically ? (without a phone number, they can not really provide "home phone" service !)
Also, my service is a "package", called Home Phone with Free Internet.
So if they cancel "Home Phone" service, are they going to shut down my Internet too? or they will switch me to one of their only Internet plan ?
I guess, I have to give them a call to find out, otherwise one day I might find myself without Internet !

When I ported a home Bell number, Bell refunded me for the unused portion of service after the port date. Not saying your provider will be this flexible, but it never hurts to ask as I learned!

[Jake]

Have you looked at FPL's DSL service? I have it and I am very happy with it.

[TheHardy]

Thank you for all for the great suggestions--I definitely will not cancel my service !
The critical point is here, how willingly 3web/Distributel co-operates and its beyond my or FPL control.
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However, I am very curious , what exactly 3web/Distributel would do when they receive a porting request ?
Do they cancel my service automatically ? (without a phone number, they can not really provide "home phone" service !)
Also, my service is a "package", called Home Phone with Free Internet.
So if they cancel "Home Phone" service, are they going to shut down my Internet too? or they will switch me to one of their only Internet plan ?
I guess, I have to give them a call to find out, otherwise one day I might find myself without Internet !

Hmmm, tricky situation. I would definitely inquire. Sounds like if you are trying to UNBUNDLE, then it may be interesting ... are you going with Fibernetics as your ISP as well (do they offer service in your area?) Never hurts to ask, but try doing so without providing your acct info at first, if possible ...

As for willingness to port, they are required to do so -- but they may drag their feet and wait out the period in which they are required to do so. Some providers do it as soon as they can get to the request. YMMV indeed. Let us know how it works out!

[jenom]

I tried DSL before with BELL, and the speed was terrible....I am too far away from their central hub....so regadless whoever is a provider, it will come through BELL's copper wires.....DSL is out of the picture. Plus I own my own cable modem (Motorola SB5100) and do not want to spend money on any DSL modem.
If FIBERNETICS would have a CABLE internet service and the price is right, I might be interested......but I think they only offer DSL.
For cable internet service, I can stay with 3web for $32+tax or switch to Techsavy for $28+tax.
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As for my situation with porting, I will give 3web a call, might need to call a few times to find a "right" CSR person, who will have the answer for me.
When I will know more, I will post it here to share my experience with others !

[jenom]

Here is a quick summary of my phone call to 3web/distributel CSR
1)they will do porting in about 10 days
2)the porting does not automatically cancel my phone service with them, I have to do it
3)I need to call them when my 3web line stops working and ask them to cancel service
4)cancelling a home phone will also cancel long distance service
5)at the time of cancellation my "home phone package with internet" will be broken down into phone service & cable service,
6)the phone service cost alone is about $5-$10
7)if it happens before the 15th day of the month, I will be billed until the end of month
8)if it happens after the 15th of the month , I will be charged for another month
9)now they are not sure about the price for internet only, because 3web's computer system is in the process to merge with distributel's system
and they will only know the price , when the actual cancellation takes place, and the computer will show the price
10) as per today, their already combined website shows cable internet $32.95+ tax for 3 MB , unlimited

Since I am continue to use their cable service, the porting of phonenumber will not have any effect on this service
If the porting finalized after the Jan 15th, the worst case scenario is, that I will be ending up paying for another month of phone only service ($5-$10)

[TheHardy]

Thanks for the update on that Jenom -- as for your costs, $5-10 extra to be able to keep and port your existing # and not have to let all your contacts know and change the # seems fairly reasonable, in the grand scheme of things ... and that will easily be recovered with the savings of going FPL!

Are you glad yet that you have decided to take the leap??

[jenom]

not much of a LEAP, since everything went so far nice & easy with FPL
signup-setup-email-invoice......well designed system
they even called me to verifymy 911 info
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as for the actual cost for porting, $25+tax=$28 porting fee , $5---$10 for extra month, total would be around $35-$40
however, keeping a peace at home (by keeping a same number) = priceless
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now just need to wait and see how porting would actualize

[TheHardy]

True dat ... GENERALLY, most stuff with FPL is cut and dried, nice and simple. Not to say there are not snags from time to time, but they generally get resolved without too much hassle, once identified. Be aware though that they are changing over to become FonGo, so there may be a small minor hiccup or two as that transition occurs.

Once the PORT is complete, you can start working on the STARBOARD ...

[FONGO_steve]

Be aware though that they are changing over to become FonGo, so there may be a small minor hiccup or two as that transition occurs.

There won't be any hiccups It's only a name transition, all the systems running the service will remain as-is.

[TheHardy]

There won't be any hiccups It's only a name transition, all the systems running the service will remain as-is.

Okay, good to know. The announcements so far have been vague enough that I was unsure if there was "more under the hood" going on what with the potential new product offerings etc. I am happy to know that at this time, there are no large behind the scenes changes that could disrupt service; even the most well planned roll outs always have the POTENTIAL for gremlins!

[jenom]

New development: Received emails from FreePhoneLine Cust.Service, informing that the PORTING will take place on January 16, Monday
Looks like , I am going to miss the cancellation deadline (15th day of the month) with 3web, so I might end up paying for 1 extra month of service.
On the other hand, once they transferred my phone number to FPL , they discontinued to provide a phone service, so I should get a refund for the already paid, but unused remaining time.....I am going to talk to them on Jan 16 th.
Also curious about how "seamless" this transfer will be, like 3 web line stops working, and FPL line gets the new number immediately, so my "old" FPL line stops working too ? ---Both phone line DEAD = transfer happened !
I guess, FPL going to change my SIP username too, because it is a phonnumber ?

[FONGO_steve]

New development: Received emails from FreePhoneLine Cust.Service, informing that the PORTING will take place on January 16, Monday
Looks like , I am going to miss the cancellation deadline (15th day of the month) with 3web, so I might end up paying for 1 extra month of service.
On the other hand, once they transferred my phone number to FPL , they discontinued to provide a phone service, so I should get a refund for the already paid, but unused remaining time.....I am going to talk to them on Jan 16 th.
Also curious about how "seamless" this transfer will be, like 3 web line stops working, and FPL line gets the new number immediately, so my "old" FPL line stops working too ? ---Both phone line DEAD = transfer happened !
I guess, FPL going to change my SIP username too, because it is a phonnumber ?

Your SIP username will change to your new number - everything else will remain as it is.

Our porting is usually all done in the morning, so at most you might have a short downtime but we work hard to ensure it's very minimal. Once the number is transferred over, even if you haven't programmed your device right away, the voicemail and call forwarding will still work exactly as it was on your old number so you won't be 'loosing' any calls.

[Jake]

Our porting is usually all done in the morning, so at most you might have a short downtime but we work hard to ensure it's very minimal. Once the number is transferred over, even if you haven't programmed your device right away, the voicemail and call forwarding will still work exactly as it was on your old number so you won't be 'loosing' any calls.

That's a good point, and probably worth mentioning to anyone porting their number.

The day before your number port, temporarily add in your cell number for call forwarding on busy/offline. that way you won't miss any calls during the transition. Then when it is moved over and you have set your ATA back up, take the number out again.

[jenom]

January 16--PORTING DAY !
My FPL phone line stopped working a night before..message: This account number is not valid ! ..good sign, the porting is is coming!
The 3web line was still worked in the morning, however when called number at noon from work, call went to the FPL voicemail.....porting is done !
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Called 3web Cust.service and cancelled "Phone service", received no credit for the already paid /unusable Jan 16- Jan 31 time.
Starting Febr 1, I will be charged for their cable service only ($32.95+tax)
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When returned home and checked my email, there was one from PFL at 10:50 am, saying that porting is now complete!
Also received an email from 3web about cancelling the phone service.
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I used a Grandstream HT 496 ATA for the FPL line and it worked fine with "OLD #" settings, and it worked fine with "NEW #" settings
However when I tried to setup a Linksys/Sipura SPA2100 ATA (used it with 3web) , got a solid GREEN light, got a ringtone,on its status page shows that it REGISTERED, but when I tried to make a phonecall:---it does not have a ringback tone, goes to BUSY signal after a few seconds, and the solid GREEN light on the box is blinking .....when hang up phone, GREEN light is SOLID again.
Done the FACTORY reset by entering the reset code and re-entered PFL settings....no change ! Moved it front of the router (after cable modem)...no change !
I guess, the SPA2100 has just way too many settings in the menus, so something could be very easily a wrong value......on the other hand, the more simple Grandstream HT496 worked with default setting , only username/password/server address needed to be modified!

[TheHardy]

Glad to hear the port went well, sorry that you lost a half-month credit at 3web.

As for the hardware stuff, I am afraid I am just using the softphone so I cannot help -- did you try some of the dedicated threads for working device configs to see if there was anything obvious you might have missed?

[jenom]

I will need spend more time to play with settings, put it before the router, downgrade firmware to older one, etc....
The important thing, that the switch over went smoothly.
The best part is, that my family did not even noticed the change.....and I am not telling them !
Thanks for everybody all the info !

[FONGO_mike]

The best part is, that my family did not even noticed the change.....and I am not telling them !
Thanks for everybody all the info !

Not telling them? By all means tell them! Let them enjoy our free service as well