It’s a sad day for those of us who have been enjoying SunRocket’s $200 per year for unlimited calls deal. As of August 5, they’re ceasing to exist. Depending upon who you ask (or read), it’s due to abuse of the system, lawsuits, or simple market economics. We were pretty satisfied with their service and their customer relations.
Here come all the solicitations for new service. For now, we ported our number over to Vonage with no problem whatsoever. They’re giving us two months free, so we’ll see how it goes and maybe stay with them. Of course, I’ve heard that Verizon is trying to strangle them with legal fees, so it could be another sinking ship. Hopefully not. They’re more expensive than SunRocket was, but those we know that use them have been satisfied.
Another option for SunRocket customers (or anyone else who wants to save big on their phone bills) is VOIP.com. They’re only $20 a month (or $17 if you pay yearly). Pretty much the same as SR, Vonage, or any other VOIP provider. They’re relatively new, but reviews are good. If you’re the type who doesn’t mind taking a little bit of a chance, it’s a very inexpensive option. Frankly, for $200 a year for unlimited calling, if they stay in business for four months, I’ve come out ahead of my local phone company.
TeleBlend is offering SR customers a discounted rate of $12.95/mo for unlimited calls. That’s probably the cheapest option. It’s a brand new startup, but for $13, what do you have to lose except a hefty phone bill?
Net2Phone is honoring existing SR contracts when you sign up with them. They are NOT affiliated with SR, just running a marketing campaign. It’s actually pretty clever, and if we had a lot of time remaining on our contract, I’d probably go with them (we didn’t).
Vonage is probably the best known and oldest VOIP. They also charge more. But $25/mo for unlimited calls is still half of what my phone company charges for basic. Right now, they gave us two free months. We’re tracking how many minutes we spend on the phone. It’s $15 if we want to cap at 500 minutes, then 3.9 cents per minute thereafter. So, if we are on the phone less than 750 minutes per month, the cheaper plan is the way to go.
There are, of course, many other VOIP providers. You can see a comparison here. I only listed those I’m familiar with. You should, of course, check them out yourself and decide which is best for your situation. ANY of them, for me, would be better than the charges that the phone company was billing.
Link to compare VOIP packages