Calling Voiply

I’ve maintained our home landline* though we don’t use it much, bundled with our Spectrum internet service. Aside from still being linked to old legacy accounts like our grocery store’s and Shell card rewards program, I’ve also kept it partly for sentimental reasons since I’ve had the number since the 1990s. I half joke that the only people who really still call it are my mother-in-law and spammers.

I actually did nearly drop the line a few years back. When I called Spectrum to indicate I was thinking of canceling, they offered a two-year bundled monthly deal with my Internet that brought down the overall monthly cost to below $100, so I kept it.

The bundle deal recently expired at around the same time we learned that our homeowner’s association had recently entered into a contract with a new local high speed internet provider that, by the end of the year, would provide us new residential data service at a greatly reduced rate. Given that we would be eventually canceling our Spectrum service, I thought it might be an opportunity to also completely cut the cord with Spectrum and move to another—and, more importantly, cheaper—VOIP phone provider.

Above: Voiply adaptor

After some cursory research, I considered Vonage, Ooma and Voiply. Frankly, all offered comparable prices and features. That said, I subsequently discovered that Vonage (the only one of the services I’d heard of previously) had become more focused on business customers rather than residential; and while Ooma technically offered a “free” monthly plan (except for taxes), you had to purchase the equipment (ranging anywhere from $69.99–$99.99, depending on where you purchased it), whereas Voiply provided the equipment for free. While I recognize Ooma may offer the “cheapest” plan over the long haul, I liked the idea of no upfront start up cost. Ultimately, I went with the three-month renewable Voiply plan that came to approximately $8.95 per month and, if you pay annually, as low as $7.46 (with no contracts). Given that I was currently paying $30/month for my Spectrum line (and I know someone who pays $60/month with AT&T!), that was more than an acceptable savings!

And, of course, part of the onboarding process with Voiply was the option of porting my current home phone number. (It’s important not to cancel your service before the number is ported or you will lose it). A happy surprise was that I didn’t have to call Spectrum afterwards as I anticipated to separately cancel the service—when my number became active on Voiply, I received an email notice from Spectrum that my service agreement had been updated and the phone service removed!!

For the record, I placed my order and created my Voiply account on July 1—which included the order to port my number—and received the equipment on July 6. The number was ported and became active on Voiply on July 8.

Though I was aware of the features, one that surprised me was that the number automatically forwards to my mobile phone via the Voiply app!! I learned this in a very critical manner on the very day the line became active—I was out at a family event and someone called our home number to reach us, and I picked it up on my cell phone. Had the line not been activated and had I not installed the app, I would not have received what turned out to be an important phone call!

By the way, the service works very simply: there is a small separate “black box” that serves as a conduit between the router and the phone, connected to the router via a provided Internet cable and the phone via the regular phone line. Both the app and the online account allows you to manage many of the features (which also includes call forwarding, calling out from the number from your mobile device, and even being able to use text to a degree!)

Anyway, I’ve only just got it, but I’m already sold—if for no other reason than due to the great savings in price for the service.

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* "Landlines" are no longer truly the analog landlines of old—most are now digital-based or, more accurately, VOIP lines, or (Voice over Internet Protocol)