Here's a review of VoicePulse I wrote for a website 3 years ago. I was impressed with the company so much they ended up being my primary phone service, and they still are today. They also provide my secondary phone line which is a phone number located in the next area code over from my home. Who else do you know that pays around $30 for TWO phone lines? One has unlimited US long distance and the other is in an area code on the other end of the state, and not to mention more features than you can shake a stick at. Many of the features your local phone company don't even offer you.... enjoy the read.
What is VoIP?
When people ask "What in the world is VoIP?", I usually give them the easiest answer; a way to save a lot a money on your phone bill! VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol. What does this mean you might ask? Instead of phone calls transmitting through the antique telephone system, the calls are routed over the internet. To accomplish this, VoicePulse provides a small adapter plugged in between the router and a standard telephone handset.
You've probably heard of or have actually used a form of VoIP in the past few years. A few examples are DialPad, Net2Phone, and Yahoo Messenger. Originally these services may have been free but now they are not. The two major drawbacks these services had are: a headset tethered to your home computer and no local number for incoming calls. With today's VoIP service, you can use a standard household phone, receive incoming calls, have unlimited long distance, voicemails sent to email, and more. VoIP has made great strides in the past 2 years and brings much more to the table!
Why do I need VoIP?
To save some cash, of course! During the scope of this review, I surveyed several people about their phone usage. With a VoIP solution the users could save anywhere from twenty dollars a month to hundreds! On top of the savings you even get more features than the standard telephone service ever dreamed of offering.
What is needed to reap the benefits of VoicePulse's VoIP service?
* High-speed Internet connection -- usually cable or DSL.
* Standard household cord/cordless phone plugged into the broadband telephone adapter.
* A router which enables simultaneously web usage and phone conversations
Enough technical talk, let's dig into VoicePulse's service.
Ordering VoicePulse
VoicePulse offers 6 different plans to fit your needs:
Our favorite plan is the "Local Unlimited +200" for $14.99 a month. Unlike normal telephone service, VoicePulse does not add any hidden fees to the regular monthly rate.
Once you've chosen a plan it's time to choose your incoming number. Yes, you read that right! You can choose any area code that VoicePulse offers regardless of your location. Recently moved from Miami, FL to New York City? Choose a Miami phone number, and your New York home is only a local call away from friends and family in Miami! If your area code is not available, submit your email address on the availability page to be notified when the area code becomes available.
Come on! You can't possibly get much for only $15 a month. Yes, you can! There are so many features available with VoicePulse; you will be wondering why individuals are still using a standard telephone service.
VoicePulse's Standard Features
Caller ID with name
Call Waiting with CallerID
Call Transfer
Return Call *69
3-way Calling
VoicePulse's Advanced Features
Anonymous Call Blocking
Call Forwarding
Caller ID Blocking
Contact Lists
Directory Assistance Blocking
Distinctive Ringing
Do Not Disturb
Enhanced voicemail
Filters
International call blocking
Line unavailable forwarding
Multi-Ring
Speed dial
Telemarketer blocking
and many more!
Installation
The telephone adapter, Sipura-2000, is provided with a quick installation guide, network patch cable, and AC power adapter. The installation guide contains the phone number(s) provisioned to the Sipura (SPA), the voicemail access number, and startup instructions. Installation of the SPA adapter provided by VoicePulse is a breeze to install. I plugged in my cordless phone base to the "PHONE1" jack. I then connected the patch cable from the SPA to an open port on my router. Once connected to power, the SPA status light blinked a few times during the initialization process. According to the quick start guide, the phone was ready once the status light ceased blinking. Within a matter of 5 minutes after opening the package, I was making calls across the country. There was no software to install on the PC. Just plug it in and start talking.
The evaluation unit provided was provisioned to a New York 212 area code. I had a good laugh when most of my friends asked what I was doing in New York! I made 5 or 6 quick phone calls and no one even knew I was talking over the internet. I did not notice any difference in quality between local calls and long distance calls. Some of the phone calls even sounded clearer and louder than a traditional phone line!
After making a few phone calls, I logged into my account on VoicePulse's website. As soon as you hang up from the call, it will be displayed in the online call log. This is an excellent way to view numbers previously called. Utilizing the "Contact List" from the "Manage Features" section of the website, I changed the caller ID name of a friend's cell phone number to his actual name. When he calls now, "David's Cell" will be displayed instead of "WIRELESS CALLER" on the ID display. No one will ever ask you again, "Who is WIRELESS CALLER 555-1111?"
Sneak Peek at a Few Features
What is this "Enhanced Voicemail" all about? VoicePulse actually sends you an email with the voicemail message attached! Open the email and all of your voicemails are waiting. Voicemail is also indicated to the user by the "stutter dial tone" and the voicemail indicator light on the phone (if available). Voicemail may also be accessed by dialing *123 on the VoicePulse phone or dialing the supplied voicemail access number from any phone.
The Call Filters section allows you to do some amazing things with your phone line. You can set specific phone numbers to Always Ring, Always Busy, etc.....
Do you want to prevent the phone from ringing at scheduled times? Activate the "Scheduled Do Not Disturb".
Never receive an "Unknown Name/Unknown Number" call on your caller ID again! VoicePulse will actually prompt the caller to enter their phone number before the call is completed.
These are just a few of the features available from VoicePulse. There are many more!
Conclusions
A VoIP provider can offer hundreds of features but it isn't worth a dime if the quality of calls are not up to par. VoicePulse goes beyond this with its call quality. Over 400 minutes were used, in this review, without one single complaint from either party about the call quality. During this review of service, VoicePulse was tested on 7 different home networks ranging from hardware routers to software routers. During each installation no special setup was needed, just plug in the SPA. Various standard cordless/corded phones were tested with no problems encountered. I am unable to comment on VoicePulse's tech support. During the entire course of the review no one had to contact tech support.
A few unforeseen advantages are sometimes not obvious to the user. With more hotels providing broadband internet connectivity, a traveling user could take his/her VoicePulse adapter and make unlimited calls from the hotel room. Going one step further, have a friend or family member overseas? Send them a VoicePulse adapter! They now have a US phone number in their overseas home for as little as $15 a month.
During the review of VoicePulse's service I had an opportunity to interview Ravi Sakaria, CEO & Cofounder. VoicePulse is a little over a year old(in 2004) and has grown to a level never conceived of 1 year ago. During the first year of business, Ravi and his team focused on providing the widest range of features available to VoIP users. The focus of the second year is to increase availability of area codes. Ravi stated users will soon be able to port traditional telephone numbers over to the VoicePulse service. The amazing technology of VoIP as known today is only the beginning. Providers, such as VoicePulse, offering an astonishing amount of features at a low prices will be here for the long haul. After reviewing this service, VoicePulse will be handling all of my household phone calls!
Pro's:
No more surprises from the monthly phone bill
Block visitors from making 411(directory assistance) and/or international calls
Unlimited regional and/or unlimited national long distance
Call Waiting, Caller ID, Voicemail, etc. are free of charge
Advanced features not available through a traditional phone company
Plans to encrypt all phone calls unlike other providers
One of the few VoIP providers to offer 7 digit dialing(area code is user selectable)
Phone number is unlisted(no extra cost) - a reverse lookup cannot be done on the phone number
Line2 on the SPA can be configured for a $5 Open Access line or FreeWorldDialup
Con's:
Calls to Canada are long distance
No phone service when the household's internet service is down
More information on VoIP:
How to Distribute VoIP Throughout a Home
What is VoIP?
When people ask "What in the world is VoIP?", I usually give them the easiest answer; a way to save a lot a money on your phone bill! VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol. What does this mean you might ask? Instead of phone calls transmitting through the antique telephone system, the calls are routed over the internet. To accomplish this, VoicePulse provides a small adapter plugged in between the router and a standard telephone handset.
You've probably heard of or have actually used a form of VoIP in the past few years. A few examples are DialPad, Net2Phone, and Yahoo Messenger. Originally these services may have been free but now they are not. The two major drawbacks these services had are: a headset tethered to your home computer and no local number for incoming calls. With today's VoIP service, you can use a standard household phone, receive incoming calls, have unlimited long distance, voicemails sent to email, and more. VoIP has made great strides in the past 2 years and brings much more to the table!
Why do I need VoIP?
To save some cash, of course! During the scope of this review, I surveyed several people about their phone usage. With a VoIP solution the users could save anywhere from twenty dollars a month to hundreds! On top of the savings you even get more features than the standard telephone service ever dreamed of offering.
What is needed to reap the benefits of VoicePulse's VoIP service?
* High-speed Internet connection -- usually cable or DSL.
* Standard household cord/cordless phone plugged into the broadband telephone adapter.
* A router which enables simultaneously web usage and phone conversations
Enough technical talk, let's dig into VoicePulse's service.
Ordering VoicePulse
VoicePulse offers 6 different plans to fit your needs:
Our favorite plan is the "Local Unlimited +200" for $14.99 a month. Unlike normal telephone service, VoicePulse does not add any hidden fees to the regular monthly rate.
Once you've chosen a plan it's time to choose your incoming number. Yes, you read that right! You can choose any area code that VoicePulse offers regardless of your location. Recently moved from Miami, FL to New York City? Choose a Miami phone number, and your New York home is only a local call away from friends and family in Miami! If your area code is not available, submit your email address on the availability page to be notified when the area code becomes available.
Come on! You can't possibly get much for only $15 a month. Yes, you can! There are so many features available with VoicePulse; you will be wondering why individuals are still using a standard telephone service.
VoicePulse's Standard Features
Caller ID with name
Call Waiting with CallerID
Call Transfer
Return Call *69
3-way Calling
VoicePulse's Advanced Features
Anonymous Call Blocking
Call Forwarding
Caller ID Blocking
Contact Lists
Directory Assistance Blocking
Distinctive Ringing
Do Not Disturb
Enhanced voicemail
Filters
International call blocking
Line unavailable forwarding
Multi-Ring
Speed dial
Telemarketer blocking
and many more!
Installation
The telephone adapter, Sipura-2000, is provided with a quick installation guide, network patch cable, and AC power adapter. The installation guide contains the phone number(s) provisioned to the Sipura (SPA), the voicemail access number, and startup instructions. Installation of the SPA adapter provided by VoicePulse is a breeze to install. I plugged in my cordless phone base to the "PHONE1" jack. I then connected the patch cable from the SPA to an open port on my router. Once connected to power, the SPA status light blinked a few times during the initialization process. According to the quick start guide, the phone was ready once the status light ceased blinking. Within a matter of 5 minutes after opening the package, I was making calls across the country. There was no software to install on the PC. Just plug it in and start talking.
The evaluation unit provided was provisioned to a New York 212 area code. I had a good laugh when most of my friends asked what I was doing in New York! I made 5 or 6 quick phone calls and no one even knew I was talking over the internet. I did not notice any difference in quality between local calls and long distance calls. Some of the phone calls even sounded clearer and louder than a traditional phone line!
After making a few phone calls, I logged into my account on VoicePulse's website. As soon as you hang up from the call, it will be displayed in the online call log. This is an excellent way to view numbers previously called. Utilizing the "Contact List" from the "Manage Features" section of the website, I changed the caller ID name of a friend's cell phone number to his actual name. When he calls now, "David's Cell" will be displayed instead of "WIRELESS CALLER" on the ID display. No one will ever ask you again, "Who is WIRELESS CALLER 555-1111?"
Sneak Peek at a Few Features
What is this "Enhanced Voicemail" all about? VoicePulse actually sends you an email with the voicemail message attached! Open the email and all of your voicemails are waiting. Voicemail is also indicated to the user by the "stutter dial tone" and the voicemail indicator light on the phone (if available). Voicemail may also be accessed by dialing *123 on the VoicePulse phone or dialing the supplied voicemail access number from any phone.
The Call Filters section allows you to do some amazing things with your phone line. You can set specific phone numbers to Always Ring, Always Busy, etc.....
Do you want to prevent the phone from ringing at scheduled times? Activate the "Scheduled Do Not Disturb".
Never receive an "Unknown Name/Unknown Number" call on your caller ID again! VoicePulse will actually prompt the caller to enter their phone number before the call is completed.
These are just a few of the features available from VoicePulse. There are many more!
Conclusions
A VoIP provider can offer hundreds of features but it isn't worth a dime if the quality of calls are not up to par. VoicePulse goes beyond this with its call quality. Over 400 minutes were used, in this review, without one single complaint from either party about the call quality. During this review of service, VoicePulse was tested on 7 different home networks ranging from hardware routers to software routers. During each installation no special setup was needed, just plug in the SPA. Various standard cordless/corded phones were tested with no problems encountered. I am unable to comment on VoicePulse's tech support. During the entire course of the review no one had to contact tech support.
A few unforeseen advantages are sometimes not obvious to the user. With more hotels providing broadband internet connectivity, a traveling user could take his/her VoicePulse adapter and make unlimited calls from the hotel room. Going one step further, have a friend or family member overseas? Send them a VoicePulse adapter! They now have a US phone number in their overseas home for as little as $15 a month.
During the review of VoicePulse's service I had an opportunity to interview Ravi Sakaria, CEO & Cofounder. VoicePulse is a little over a year old(in 2004) and has grown to a level never conceived of 1 year ago. During the first year of business, Ravi and his team focused on providing the widest range of features available to VoIP users. The focus of the second year is to increase availability of area codes. Ravi stated users will soon be able to port traditional telephone numbers over to the VoicePulse service. The amazing technology of VoIP as known today is only the beginning. Providers, such as VoicePulse, offering an astonishing amount of features at a low prices will be here for the long haul. After reviewing this service, VoicePulse will be handling all of my household phone calls!
Pro's:
No more surprises from the monthly phone bill
Block visitors from making 411(directory assistance) and/or international calls
Unlimited regional and/or unlimited national long distance
Call Waiting, Caller ID, Voicemail, etc. are free of charge
Advanced features not available through a traditional phone company
Plans to encrypt all phone calls unlike other providers
One of the few VoIP providers to offer 7 digit dialing(area code is user selectable)
Phone number is unlisted(no extra cost) - a reverse lookup cannot be done on the phone number
Line2 on the SPA can be configured for a $5 Open Access line or FreeWorldDialup
Con's:
Calls to Canada are long distance
No phone service when the household's internet service is down
More information on VoIP:
How to Distribute VoIP Throughout a Home
