ooma Core VoIP Phone System with No Monthly Phone Service Bills Immediately

I am a skeptic, and believe me this system does sound too good to be true. I shopped around for months looking at alternatives to replace my AT&T service which was roughly $120 a month for unlimited domestic, DSL, caller id package and local calling. My first switch was to Road-Runner cable internet which was a dramatically faster service just based upon the side-by-side comparison using one of the online bandwidth speed services. The cost difference between the DSL and cable internet was minimal (basically a wash) but there was the speed to consider as well as the free promotional equipment. (I was due for an upgrade after having DSL for probably 7 or so years....)

Anyway, I continued my research on various types of VOIP offerings and kept coming back to Ooma.

Here's what I liked before actually experiencing the system...

(a) Ability to port my existing phone number which I've had for years
(b) Ability to use my existing phones (a.k.a. not changing things around in my home such as having a phone which only works when I'm at my computer, etc.)
(c) Knowing that if my family suffered some DRASTIC financial woes (job losses, etc.) we would never have to worry about losing our phone service as long as we could afford the $35 for high speed internet (which to me is the last luxury item I would ever ditch anyway since I use it for work, you can use it for entertainment, etc.... a real multipurpose tool for $35 a month)
(d) Caller ID, etc. for no additional cost
(e) e-911
(f) A monthly bill gone ... *poof*

My husband was pretty skeptical too, but he knows I am good with money and don't make decisions in haste. He now thinks I'm some kind of financial genius since this system has been working like a charm. The regular service which you get for the one time purchase of the equipment had EVERYTHING I was previously paying the phone company $85 per month for and MORE. I decided to try the premium service for a year ($99 which rounds out to $8.25 per month) since it included free number portability vs. paying a one time charge of $40 to port my existing number. This system will pay for itself in three months which includes my adding on the premium service for one year.

Here's what I'm getting from Ooma most of which I did not get from my phone provider for the money paid...

(a) Complete call logs online with all incoming and outgoing calls and the ability to `click' and block certain calls, etc.
(b) An optional, personalized `do not call' list based upon calls determined to be `pest' calls by other Ooma users. I have chosen to have these calls sent directly to voicemail (where they hang up, of course) so I have not had a single telemarketer get through to speak to me since signing up
(c) A second phone line that I can use while the other phone line is being used WITH NO DIFFERENCE IN QUALITY AT ALL. I am not kidding; it is like I never dropped the landline. There is no difference at all even when both lines are being used AND we are using the internet i.e. downloading a video, etc.
(d) A second phone number.... Not only do we have our original phone number, I opted for a second FREE phone number too just in case I want to receive business calls at home, etc.
(e) Voicemail which shows up as a `blinking' message on my Ooma hub and scouts (they look and act like an old school answering machine, Voicemail which shows up in my and my husbands email inboxes
(f) The ability to forward my calls to my cell-phone (or any other phone) with a simple click of the mouse (and can remove with a click too)
(g) SATELLITE TV CUSTOMERS... I have a splitter hooked up to the out on my Ooma scout to go to a multi-handset telephone as well as my Dish receiver, so my receiver can still download my program guides as usual AND I still get my caller id on the TV just like before (NOTE: since the satellite receivers can have some issues dialing up over a voip type service, I went into the system menu (6-1-4 on Dish receiver) and set up *99 as my dialing prefix... I read this in a blog after seeing my receiver was dialing multiple times in one day on my Call Log [see bullet a] and it works just fine)

I really could go on, and on and on... Read the review from Jason M. Page if you have questions about how to hook this up. I found his review extremely valuable in my research and can't improve upon it since I have maybe one or two technical bones in my body at the most.

Here what I have... Ooma hub and scout, Wireless Motorola surfboard cable modem, Wireless N D-Link router which I had before switching to cable and would recommend since one of its highlights is the ability to prioritize internet traffic for VOIP, etc.

Even if you are one of the folks which has dropped a landline for cell phone only, I would still recommend you purchase this system if you have high speed internet at home. You could always switch to a lower priced cell package, etc. or even drop it altogether if you hit tough times and you would still have a phone.

Over 12 months of service I will save over $700 after the costs of equipment with making no sacrifices at all - - AND I'm actually getting better service. Even if I had to buy another hub due to equipment malfunction, I would still be saving money. If for some reason the company went out of business, I will still have saved money up until that point. I had a lot of reasons to be skeptical before purchase, but I am sorry I waited as long as I did to sign up.

IF YOU TAKE NOTHING ELSE FROM THIS REVIEW..... You should know that the ONLY way my life has changed after purchasing the Ooma system is that I have more phone perks than EVER before and I do NOT have a phone bill. Get more detail about ooma Core VoIP Phone System with No Monthly Phone Service Bills.