New User questions with Fongo/dellvoice/freephoneline?

[fefrie]

What's the catch? They give you a number it's free to claim as your own?

There's no monthly fee? Free canadian major cities calling?

They're all the same company?

What's your typical monthly usage?

Am I missing something here? There's always a catch....

[TheHardy]

No real catch. If you stick with the free PC softphone, both versions have their own little bugs, mainly cosmetic.

I have been FREE-using it for almost a year now, and other than the above, and a few other glitches (such as it is IMPOSSIBLE to navigate IVR systems), it is as advertised.

Beware of the LD rates, as there is a connection fee.

Calling areas are evolving --- they are not TRADITIONAL calling areas, so when they say "Winnipeg" they mean WINNIPEG-proper, not the areas that are "around" Winnipeg (ie: city calling not the LCA of that city....). But there are more coming online.

No catches .. just be aware of the differences between the product offerings...

[dibsmft]

I can't use FPL very much as there are no DIDs for my area (not even close!) and "free calling" only covers the core of the St. John's area. I can see that if I needed to call any of the larger cities that are covered or lived in one of them the service would be excellent value. The only catch at present is that if you need to make calls that are not free then the rate are not the lowest and there is a connection fee. The good thing is that you can try the service for free.

[CSCO]

In your case, you may want to get a number and use softphone as a secondary to your main home line. I have similar situation with person in rural BC. The only reason she can't get rid of landline is because local people can't call her easily.

[TheHardy]

In your case, you may want to get a number and use softphone as a secondary to your main home line. I have similar situation with person in rural BC. The only reason she can't get rid of landline is because local people can't call her easily.

I'm sure dibsmft already does this ...

As for your friend in Rural BC, is it so remote that one of the other DID providers does not offer coverage? Marrying another DID provider's lower cost # and in-expensive usage with FPL service may be an option, depending on how technically inclined your friend is to kludge together a solution.

I do not see there being any rush on Fongo's part to offer more DID's at this time, as the opportunity to do so and expand to some of the areas that they already cover as free calling cities has ridden off into the sunset ...

At least if they wanted to capture the momentum from the initial increase and the DV launch, it has. Anytime is a good time for expansion, if you have a plan. Silence is what comes though, so it is hard to tell where they are at.

Our suggestions are valued and forwarded, or so we are told, anyways! Whether any of them come to fruition has yet to be seen!

I am still typing with crossed-fingers that someone in the backoffice takes a closer look at the current tariff situation to sort out the LCA discrepancies ... I would LOVE to have official word from someone DIRECTLY in tariff/rates&routing on the whole LCA issue, rather than Steve assuring us that "it is the way it is" (Steve, no slight against you, it just really makes no SENSE from any logisitical standpoint that it IS why it IS!).

(off to tilting at more windmills)

[CSCO]

Yeah.. just north of Kamloops and I looked up several. None has one.

[TheHardy]

Yeah.. just north of Kamloops and I looked up several. None has one.

Ah, if she is in one of the remote towns, then other than getting a South/North Kamloops number and being "close", she may well be out of luck. Mind if I ask specifically the town name, or at least the NPA-NXX she resides in?