Metrocast Phone Service

wifi · 11-17-2008, 11:02 AM

Oh, its porting your number thats the problem, I get it now. Implementing porting is expensive for the company owning the exchange. So you can get VOIP, just not keeping your current number. According to:

http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/numbport.html

Its a state waiver to Union Telco, et al. You might want to file a complaint with the state PUC. Unless Metrocast wants to pick up the tab to fund portability across all of Union's exchanges, there is little reason for Union to give in - might be a long wait.

Senter Cove Guy · 11-17-2008, 01:35 PM

What about this new product. Is anyone using it? Seems like a good answer.

Argie's Wife · 11-17-2008, 11:27 PM

The cons to MagicJack is that it is a VOIP service. (Voice Over Internet Protocol). It means that you have to have your computer on all the time to make and receive phone calls. You cannot get your regular phone number transferred to the service if you have Union Communications, as we have already discussed here. If you have an interruption in your internet service, then your phone will also be OUT.

The service is about $20/year and there's no telling how much longer that will continue if there are VOIP taxes, as is being proposed. (Skype is free, for the most part, and even offers video teleconferencing.) VOIP quality just isn't as good as landlines but generally better than the quality you get from your average cell phone.

Right now MagicJack is not available to Mac users - PC only for now - because of a driver issue, although most Macs can now run Windows thanks to the Intel 2 Duo chip so that's not really an issue... It conflicts with media recording software like Nero, so that would be a problem for most PC's these days.

Finally, there is little/no customer support for this product. If you have a problem - it's YOUR problem.

wifi · 11-25-2008, 07:59 AM

This morning, Metrocast is reporting television, internet and phones are down in NH with no estimated time of repair.

I remember in the recent past Verizon/Fairpoint having fiber cut problems taking down phone and data service in the north country.

Here's hoping they get it fixed soon.

Update (0900): Looks like they are trying to reroute traffic in thru Boston. It used to go via upstate NY (where this storm came from). I can see into the Bemont NH office now, so its not far away

gtxrider · 11-26-2008, 11:57 AM

I my line of work I deal with lots of telephone providers. We find it hard to refer troubles to both wireless and cable companies. One person I worked with on the wireless side said as long as some calls get thru it's OK.

I have yet to lose dial tone but my cable seems to go out quite often.

I guess I am old fashioned, still remember rotary phones.

Merrymeeting · 05-08-2010, 12:56 PM

Hi,

I'm interested in hearing from others who may have switched to Metrocast digital phone service recently.

I changed over our phone a few weeks ago. We already had internet and tv from them, added the digital phone. There was no installation fee, the service is working fine, and we are very happy with it.

Yesterday I called to perform the same switch for my mothers service. When I finished supplying the call agent with all the necessary info, she informed me there would be $69 in installation charges. This surprised me given there had been none for me. I asked if I had been covered by a special promotion and was told no, there should always be a fee.

So, my question... did I get lucky in avoiding the fee, or did I get a bad call agent when calling about my mothers service. If the $69 does apply, I may just cancel the install and stay with her current service. It's not worth switching at that price.

Thanks

Winni-Retired · 05-08-2010, 01:38 PM

We dropped Verizon a long time ago and we use VOIPo ( see VOIPo.com )

The annual cost is $133 per year tax / fees included and no set up cost. The service includes 60 minutes of international calls (which we use ) and no cost US / Canada calls

We love it ...the small box just plugs into the back of the modem or your router... depending on what you are using

upthesaukee · 05-08-2010, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Merrymeeting

Hi,

I'm interested in hearing from others who may have switched to Metrocast digital phone service recently.

I changed over our phone a few weeks ago. We already had internet and tv from them, added the digital phone. There was no installation fee, the service is working fine, and we are very happy with it.

Yesterday I called to perform the same switch for my mothers service. When I finished supplying the call agent with all the necessary info, she informed me there would be $69 in installation charges. This surprised me given there had been none for me. I asked if I had been covered by a special promotion and was told no, there should always be a fee.

So, my question... did I get lucky in avoiding the fee, or did I get a bad call agent when calling about my mothers service. If the $69 does apply, I may just cancel the install and stay with her current service. It's not worth switching at that price.

Thanks

When we got VIP in Feb, installation was half off. Quite frankly, I can't remember if it was $100 cut to 50 or $50 cut to 25. There was also a prorated first month bill, and with our installation a week and a little bit into the month, I think that is about what we paid. I am very happy with the service, and was impressed with the battery back up for the phone when we lost power a week or so ago. I was able to call my wife and tell her we were without power on the home phone. Not good for long term outages, but at least you can make a quick call for up to 8 hours from the outage.

Whimsey · 05-08-2010, 04:10 PM

I switched a few months ago...much cheaper than Union Telephone. I was quoted half off installation, normally $99. I was billed for the full amount but they corrected it with one phone call. Service has been very good.

EllyPoinster · 05-09-2010, 09:01 AM

With Union Communications we pay half the standard rate from November through April when we are not at the lake. Does Metrocast have a similar arrangement for seasonal customers?

upthesaukee · 05-09-2010, 09:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EllyPoinster

With Union Communications we pay half the standard rate from November through April when we are not at the lake. Does Metrocast have a similar arrangement for seasonal customers?

Answer appears to be yes. here's a link to Metrocast.

http://www.metrocastcablevision.com/..._reconnect.cfm

RLW · 05-09-2010, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EllyPoinster

With Union Communications we pay half the standard rate from November through April when we are not at the lake. Does Metrocast have a similar arrangement for seasonal customers?

Yes they do have a disconnect and reconnect, however if you want to maintain your phone number there is I believe a $12 something a month charge and the line is disconnected completely. However, if you disconnect/ reconnect with Union now TDS you pay a small monthly charge, BUT if you should go to you residence during the cutoff period the phone is still connected and you can use it. If you should use it then you pay the full amount for that month and that month only. I found this feature to be good as we use to go to our place off and on during the winter months and found that I needed to contact someone and the phone was there and workable. Now I'll get of the

Belmont Resident · 05-10-2010, 06:59 AM

We have metrocast internet and cable but use Vonage for a business line and fax. I believe we pay $25 a month for unlimited.
We only have it for business messages as we use cell phones for all else.
Unless you do not have service I cannot see why anyone would waste money on a land line unless it was needed for a business especially when cell phone service is now nation wide.
Reminds me of the postal service. I cannot remember the last time I used a stamp. I mailed about 20 thank you cards to my customers. About half came back to me undelivered. I rechecked all the info even contacting my customers. After that I stopped using mail and switched to online banking. Rates go up service quality goes down, now they are complaining and talking about cutting out Saturday delivery.

upthesaukee · 05-10-2010, 09:46 AM

My son has lived in the Manchester area for the past several years, and has not had a landline, on cell service. Never had a problem with dropped calls or weak signal at home (Verizon).

Me on the other hand, at my house, I had little or no coverage with ATT, and when I switched over to Verizon, I picked up to one and sometimes two bars, if I am in the front of the house or outside. Go in the kitchen or dining room, or to the back of the house and forget it. Still no coverage. And coverage is so poor in a lot of areas just due to terrain. I, for one, am glad that I have Metrocast.
I am also glad that I waited so I could portage my number. At my age, I don't know if I could have learned a new number. I would have been totally dependent on "call home" in the address book.

I also like the short term battery backup for short power outages (up to 8 hours) which I don't think you get with Vonage, but that is no help for days without power. that is when I set my cell phone in the window in the front of the house.

11-17-2008, 01:35 PM	#2
Senter Cove Guy Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 604 Thanks: 299 Thanked 431 Times in 142 Posts	MagicJack What about this new product. Is anyone using it? Seems like a good answer. __________________ Lake Winni - The only place I want to be during the summer.

11-17-2008, 11:27 PM	#3
Argie's Wife Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Alton Posts: 1,908 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 533 Thanked 579 Times in 260 Posts	Don't bother... The cons to MagicJack is that it is a VOIP service. (Voice Over Internet Protocol). It means that you have to have your computer on all the time to make and receive phone calls. You cannot get your regular phone number transferred to the service if you have Union Communications, as we have already discussed here. If you have an interruption in your internet service, then your phone will also be OUT. The service is about $20/year and there's no telling how much longer that will continue if there are VOIP taxes, as is being proposed. (Skype is free, for the most part, and even offers video teleconferencing.) VOIP quality just isn't as good as landlines but generally better than the quality you get from your average cell phone. Right now MagicJack is not available to Mac users - PC only for now - because of a driver issue, although most Macs can now run Windows thanks to the Intel 2 Duo chip so that's not really an issue... It conflicts with media recording software like Nero, so that would be a problem for most PC's these days. Finally, there is little/no customer support for this product. If you have a problem - it's YOUR problem.

11-25-2008, 07:59 AM	#4
wifi Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Lakes Region Posts: 1,321 Thanks: 282 Thanked 287 Times in 169 Posts	Its not perfect This morning, Metrocast is reporting television, internet and phones are down in NH with no estimated time of repair. I remember in the recent past Verizon/Fairpoint having fiber cut problems taking down phone and data service in the north country. Here's hoping they get it fixed soon. Update (0900): Looks like they are trying to reroute traffic in thru Boston. It used to go via upstate NY (where this storm came from). I can see into the Bemont NH office now, so its not far away Last edited by wifi; 11-25-2008 at 10:13 AM. Reason: Update(s)

11-26-2008, 11:57 AM	#5
gtxrider Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Piscataway, NJ Posts: 1,030 Thanks: 2 Thanked 46 Times in 24 Posts	hard to work with I my line of work I deal with lots of telephone providers. We find it hard to refer troubles to both wireless and cable companies. One person I worked with on the wireless side said as long as some calls get thru it's OK. I have yet to lose dial tone but my cable seems to go out quite often. I guess I am old fashioned, still remember rotary phones.

05-08-2010, 12:56 PM	#6
Merrymeeting Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Merrymeeting Lake, New Durham Posts: 2,226 Thanks: 304 Thanked 800 Times in 368 Posts	Installation charges? Hi, I'm interested in hearing from others who may have switched to Metrocast digital phone service recently. I changed over our phone a few weeks ago. We already had internet and tv from them, added the digital phone. There was no installation fee, the service is working fine, and we are very happy with it. Yesterday I called to perform the same switch for my mothers service. When I finished supplying the call agent with all the necessary info, she informed me there would be $69 in installation charges. This surprised me given there had been none for me. I asked if I had been covered by a special promotion and was told no, there should always be a fee. So, my question... did I get lucky in avoiding the fee, or did I get a bad call agent when calling about my mothers service. If the $69 does apply, I may just cancel the install and stay with her current service. It's not worth switching at that price. Thanks

11-17-2008, 11:02 AM	#1
wifi Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Lakes Region Posts: 1,321 Thanks: 282 Thanked 287 Times in 169 Posts	Oh, its porting your number thats the problem, I get it now. Implementing porting is expensive for the company owning the exchange. So you can get VOIP, just not keeping your current number. According to: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/numbport.html Its a state waiver to Union Telco, et al. You might want to file a complaint with the state PUC. Unless Metrocast wants to pick up the tab to fund portability across all of Union's exchanges, there is little reason for Union to give in - might be a long wait.

05-08-2010, 01:38 PM	#7
Winni-Retired Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: SE Mass / Lake Posts: 125 Thanks: 98 Thanked 102 Times in 22 Posts	internet phone We dropped Verizon a long time ago and we use VOIPo ( see VOIPo.com ) The annual cost is $133 per year tax / fees included and no set up cost. The service includes 60 minutes of international calls (which we use ) and no cost US / Canada calls We love it ...the small box just plugs into the back of the modem or your router... depending on what you are using

05-08-2010, 04:10 PM	#9
Whimsey Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Rum Point/West Alton Posts: 196 Thanks: 261 Thanked 37 Times in 24 Posts	I switched a few months ago...much cheaper than Union Telephone. I was quoted half off installation, normally $99. I was billed for the full amount but they corrected it with one phone call. Service has been very good.

05-09-2010, 09:01 AM	#10
EllyPoinster Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 160 Thanks: 13 Thanked 25 Times in 20 Posts	With Union Communications we pay half the standard rate from November through April when we are not at the lake. Does Metrocast have a similar arrangement for seasonal customers?

05-10-2010, 06:59 AM	#13
Belmont Resident Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Belmont NH but prefer Jackman Maine Posts: 1,857 Thanks: 491 Thanked 410 Times in 251 Posts	why not vonage? We have metrocast internet and cable but use Vonage for a business line and fax. I believe we pay $25 a month for unlimited. We only have it for business messages as we use cell phones for all else. Unless you do not have service I cannot see why anyone would waste money on a land line unless it was needed for a business especially when cell phone service is now nation wide. Reminds me of the postal service. I cannot remember the last time I used a stamp. I mailed about 20 thank you cards to my customers. About half came back to me undelivered. I rechecked all the info even contacting my customers. After that I stopped using mail and switched to online banking. Rates go up service quality goes down, now they are complaining and talking about cutting out Saturday delivery.

05-10-2010, 09:46 AM	#14
upthesaukee Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Alton Bay Posts: 5,604 Blog Entries: 2 Thanks: 2,475 Thanked 1,983 Times in 1,083 Posts	Cell service is the key. My son has lived in the Manchester area for the past several years, and has not had a landline, on cell service. Never had a problem with dropped calls or weak signal at home (Verizon). Me on the other hand, at my house, I had little or no coverage with ATT, and when I switched over to Verizon, I picked up to one and sometimes two bars, if I am in the front of the house or outside. Go in the kitchen or dining room, or to the back of the house and forget it. Still no coverage. And coverage is so poor in a lot of areas just due to terrain. I, for one, am glad that I have Metrocast. I am also glad that I waited so I could portage my number. At my age, I don't know if I could have learned a new number. I would have been totally dependent on "call home" in the address book. I also like the short term battery backup for short power outages (up to 8 hours) which I don't think you get with Vonage, but that is no help for days without power. that is when I set my cell phone in the window in the front of the house. __________________ I Live Here... I am always UPTHESAUKEE !!!!