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THANK YOU - for lingo

THANK YOU - for lingo

Old Nov 2nd 2005, 1:53 am
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Default THANK YOU - for lingo

For whoever recommended lingo on this forum -thank you.
Saved so much over regular phone company - they wanted $35 a month for line rental alone!
It's cheap and I was worried about quality of line but it is so clear. I live in WA and I do recommend it - it works where I live. But I know some people had problems. Lingo seemed to have the best international plan over all the other VOIPs. And I would never have discovered it if it wasn't for this forum - so big hugs or as we are british - big handshakes all around!
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Old Nov 2nd 2005, 2:20 am
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Default Re: THANK YOU - for lingo

Originally Posted by irnbru4u
For whoever recommended lingo on this forum -thank you.
Saved so much over regular phone company - they wanted $35 a month for line rental alone!
It's cheap and I was worried about quality of line but it is so clear. I live in WA and I do recommend it - it works where I live. But I know some people had problems. Lingo seemed to have the best international plan over all the other VOIPs. And I would never have discovered it if it wasn't for this forum - so big hugs or as we are british - big handshakes all around!
You're welcome. Although I prefer "bingo lingo clickety click it's time to take your pick of the six"

It wasn't me really!
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Old Nov 2nd 2005, 2:27 am
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Default Re: THANK YOU - for lingo

Originally Posted by Schnorbitz
You're welcome. Although I prefer "bingo lingo clickety click it's time to take your pick of the six"

It wasn't me really!
OK as requested - "bingo lingo clickety click it's time to take your pick of the six"
missing your bingo?
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Old Nov 2nd 2005, 2:56 am
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Default Re: THANK YOU - for lingo

anyone tried RocketVoip? http://www.rocketvoip.com/default.aspx?page=Home

$20 a month and unlimted mins, includes western europe...so wondering if there service was any good...
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Old Nov 2nd 2005, 4:55 am
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Default Re: THANK YOU - for lingo

Originally Posted by Bob
anyone tried RocketVoip? http://www.rocketvoip.com/default.aspx?page=Home

$20 a month and unlimted mins, includes western europe...so wondering if there service was any good...

Interesting! Also offering a softphone (useful from the laptop if you're away) and cell phone access to the service. Would love a softphone on Lingo. Vonage offer it but it's extra and there plans are not nearly as good as Lingo's for the international caller.
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Old Nov 2nd 2005, 6:35 am
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Default Re: THANK YOU - for lingo

Originally Posted by fatbrit
Interesting! Also offering a softphone (useful from the laptop if you're away) and cell phone access to the service. Would love a softphone on Lingo. Vonage offer it but it's extra and there plans are not nearly as good as Lingo's for the international caller.
That's the problem with these services, some pluses and minuses to the lot, problem with this Rocketvoip is that they don't have local access number for maine, but would mean our out going calls would be nothing and mean I'd be able to ring my mother on a whim...and the softphone sounds pretty handy...someone was telling me about another company that had great plans, which were cheaper and worked really well, but I've forgotten the company, broadvoip or something similar...hmmm...
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Old Nov 2nd 2005, 1:07 pm
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Default Re: THANK YOU - for lingo

I love our Lingo. The only real things I would like them to tweak is the caller ID isn't true caller ID. It only shows the number and no information like names with it. It would be nice to see names attached to the numbers.

The other thing I want tweaked is this: when using my Lingo system with my answering machine (they have a default voice mail box for each number), when the answering machine picks up and the caller hangs up, it doesn't automatically disconnect like a landline would. It starts beeping a busy tone and after a while of that it beeps the really loud annoying beep to let you know your phone is off the hook and then disconnects. It is not uncommon that I come home to a number of messages that are, "beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, click"

Also, one other thing that would be nice if they changed would be the option of being listed in a directory. Although I don't mind my home phone not being listed, I use a second (you are allowed up to three numbers) Lingo phone number as a business phone number and would love for them to give me the option at the time of sign up to list this number and not that number in a directory.

Overall, I wouldn't trade my Lingo service for a landline unless I absolutely was forced to because an area I moved doesn't have high speed internet capabilities. I love that I can change any of our numbers on a whim by simply going to the website and choosing that option. I love that we could have a London number if we really wanted to. My experience with their customer service has been excellent as well.

And certainly, I didn't mind getting $25 dollars off my bill when using a current user as a referral. Anyone who is thinking about signing up to Lingo should definitely get in touch with one of us current Lingo customers so you can get $25 dollars off one of your bills. Granted, you don't get the dosh off until you have been with them for 3 months, but that wasn't an issue for us. $20 a month is nothing for unlimited US, Canada, and western Europe calling. It has really helped my husband stay in touch with his friends and family.

Gosh, I sound like a Lingo advert. lol The truth is, we were spending $40 a month for just a landline with international calling capabilities...a landline we barely used. We use our Lingo phone line all the time without ever having to worry about outlandish costs. I can't imagine we will ever go back to a landline.
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Old Nov 2nd 2005, 2:40 pm
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Default Re: THANK YOU - for lingo

I'm generally pleased with my Lingo especially for international calls, as clear as a bell. However local calls to cell phones have a 2 second delay for me which is very annoying..sometimes local landlines are a bit delayed also. It seems the farther away I call the better the reception.
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Old Nov 2nd 2005, 3:11 pm
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Default Re: THANK YOU - for lingo

Originally Posted by thing1
I love our Lingo. The only real things I would like them to tweak is the caller ID isn't true caller ID. It only shows the number and no information like names with it. It would be nice to see names attached to the numbers.

The other thing I want tweaked is this: when using my Lingo system with my answering machine (they have a default voice mail box for each number), when the answering machine picks up and the caller hangs up, it doesn't automatically disconnect like a landline would. It starts beeping a busy tone and after a while of that it beeps the really loud annoying beep to let you know your phone is off the hook and then disconnects. It is not uncommon that I come home to a number of messages that are, "beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, click"

Also, one other thing that would be nice if they changed would be the option of being listed in a directory. Although I don't mind my home phone not being listed, I use a second (you are allowed up to three numbers) Lingo phone number as a business phone number and would love for them to give me the option at the time of sign up to list this number and not that number in a directory.

Overall, I wouldn't trade my Lingo service for a landline unless I absolutely was forced to because an area I moved doesn't have high speed internet capabilities. I love that I can change any of our numbers on a whim by simply going to the website and choosing that option. I love that we could have a London number if we really wanted to. My experience with their customer service has been excellent as well.

And certainly, I didn't mind getting $25 dollars off my bill when using a current user as a referral. Anyone who is thinking about signing up to Lingo should definitely get in touch with one of us current Lingo customers so you can get $25 dollars off one of your bills. Granted, you don't get the dosh off until you have been with them for 3 months, but that wasn't an issue for us. $20 a month is nothing for unlimited US, Canada, and western Europe calling. It has really helped my husband stay in touch with his friends and family.

Gosh, I sound like a Lingo advert. lol The truth is, we were spending $40 a month for just a landline with international calling capabilities...a landline we barely used. We use our Lingo phone line all the time without ever having to worry about outlandish costs. I can't imagine we will ever go back to a landline.
I wouldn't get rid of the landline entirely if I were you. There are 4 good reasons for this (that I can think of). One - you're screwed if the power goes out (and if it goes out in a big way like the huge east coast power outage a couple of years ago then mobiles were useless too), two - if your ISP goes down (although that doesn't affect using a mobile so less of a problem), three - you can't rely on emergency service response with VOIP phones yet:

From Consumer Reports:
"Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), which is different from traditional landline service, has not been integrated into the emergency calling network. The Federal Communications Commission and emergency-services agencies say that this issue must be addressed quickly.
At present, access to 911 from a VoIP connection amounts to a workaround, not the kind of fail-safe connection available with regular landline service. A VoIP number isn’t connected to a fixed address, so when you sign up for VoIP, the provider typically asks you to register an address that it uses to give the emergency-call center your location. Even VoIP providers that say they offer “enhanced 911” service ask customers to register an address.
But as a rule, VoIP providers do not have direct access to the 911 infrastructure because they are not considered phone companies. So even with location information, VoIP calls to 911 might not be properly routed to an emergency call center."

Fourth, our Lingo box failed a few weeks ago, they went through the usual reset procedures with us and kept us on the line trying all sorts of things (good thing for a landline otherwise all our mobile minutes would have been used up); before saying they would have to send us a new box which took 3 days to arrive.


We have a basic local only call service on our regular landline that only costs about $15 a month including all those taxes and stuff (I just thought of a 5th reason to keep a landline - if you have an alarm service) so it really doesn't cost much as a useful back up.
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Old Nov 2nd 2005, 4:06 pm
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Default Re: THANK YOU - for lingo

Originally Posted by neil
I wouldn't get rid of the landline entirely if I were you. There are 4 good reasons for this
We have a basic local only call service on our regular landline that only costs about $15 a month including all those taxes and stuff (I just thought of a 5th reason to keep a landline - if you have an alarm service) so it really doesn't cost much as a useful back up.
Yes I keep an SBC land line which is $15 a month for the exact same reasons. Also I only accept social calls on my SBC number and then immediately phone my friends back on my Lingo phone to save their bills. I only give out my Lingo numbers for business calls that way I know what greeting to use when answering each phone.
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Old Nov 2nd 2005, 4:23 pm
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Default Re: THANK YOU - for lingo

We've had Lingo since we moved into our new house, think its great. As has been mentioned, you do on occasion get a lag when speaking, but for the price you really can't complain. You have to reset your box and modem on occasion (seems to be getting rarer, the service seems to have improved a lot since we first got it 4 months ago). If you do get a bad line it can usually be solved by hanging up and dialling again - again this is quite rare these days, as are dropped calls.

We are not bothered about a landline backup - if the phone goes out, so be it, no great shakes. I'll use my cellphone or alternately not talk to anyone.

It's kind of weird just having the regular phone wires hanging out of your external wall, not connected to anything!
(We have cable internet)

Last edited by Dan725; Nov 2nd 2005 at 4:28 pm.
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Old Nov 2nd 2005, 4:37 pm
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Default Re: THANK YOU - for lingo

When we first moved over we had SBC here in Austin, Texas, and they were crap. What a bloody rip off. So many extra charges each month. Then we found Lingo and have been with them since January and we are very pleased indeed. What a deal.

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Old Nov 2nd 2005, 4:48 pm
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Default Re: THANK YOU - for lingo

Lingo looks pretty cool, I've been using skype mainly because I can have a UK number for people to ring me on, which works well with friends that have plenty of mobile minutes to use.
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Old Nov 2nd 2005, 5:04 pm
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Default Re: THANK YOU - for lingo

Originally Posted by britontour
Lingo looks pretty cool, I've been using skype mainly because I can have a UK number for people to ring me on, which works well with friends that have plenty of mobile minutes to use.

You can have a UK number from Lingo, too, at an xtra $5/month. Loadsa other place round the world as well if you want.

One negative on Lingo is the relatively high cost of UK mobile numbers -- all the VoIPs are pricey on this, just that Lingo is more pricey.

I'm a happy Lingo user, dropped the local telco and they are still sending me begging letters to come back. Some bloody hope, eh?

Agree with Dan on using cell phone for backup. Don't know what all the fuss about possibly not being able to get 911 is anyway. Americans seem to be more disaster prone in my estimation, and we ain't American. And if you need to call the cops, you're just as likely to be shot as be rescued by them. So I'm happy to take my chances...
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Old Nov 2nd 2005, 6:38 pm
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Default Re: THANK YOU - for lingo

Originally Posted by fatbrit
You can have a UK number from Lingo, too, at an xtra $5/month. Loadsa other place round the world as well if you want.

One negative on Lingo is the relatively high cost of UK mobile numbers -- all the VoIPs are pricey on this, just that Lingo is more pricey.

I'm a happy Lingo user, dropped the local telco and they are still sending me begging letters to come back. Some bloody hope, eh?

Agree with Dan on using cell phone for backup. Don't know what all the fuss about possibly not being able to get 911 is anyway. Americans seem to be more disaster prone in my estimation, and we ain't American. And if you need to call the cops, you're just as likely to be shot as be rescued by them. So I'm happy to take my chances...
Actually, I believe it is $10 for a UK number and $5 for an extra domestic number.

We make a point not to call UK mobile numbers for the very reason of the high cost, but that was also true when we had a land line.

I too use my cell for back up. I've never been all that bothered when our cable internet goes out for a spell and as a result, our phone goes out as well. And given the rare possibility that we would be left without cell phone capability too, I'm not too worried about it.

As for the 911 thing...they have that covered. You have to fill out a form and submit it as being the address attached to the number. True, if you take your box elsewhere and use it without updating the 911 address info, then you will be out of luck. But you will still be able to reach a 911 operator which is more than I can say for my cell phone recently. I tried to dial 911 from my cell and got an error message. I think part of the problem is I still have a Michigan cell phone number and am currently living in Missouri....but you would still think that 911 should be dial-able anywhere in the US. Just seems crazy to not be able to use it for emergencies if you don't happen to have a local number. I digress...

We have no land line, don't need one and won't have one again anytime soon...at least not until they give me the same kind of great deals that Lingo have. We have had Lingo for several months now and have been happy with our service. If one is of the overly cautious variety and likes throwing away money for an extra phone service to cover all bases, well then by all means...have a land line as well as voip service and a mobile phone. I guess we are the "living on the edge" sort as we will continue to live happily without a land line.

Last edited by thing1; Nov 2nd 2005 at 6:39 pm. Reason: spelling correction
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