TeleBlend, you know the Sunrocket saviors, after the 2007 Sunrocket implosion, today announced that it will be offering one year of unlimited local and long distance calling for just $99. If you recall, Sunrocket was offering $299.99/year for unlimited calling just 2 years ago. Now that same offering is going for $99/year. Amazing how quickly prices have dropped in just two years.The $99 Annual Plan is available for a limited time only and includes unlimited US calling, a free device, 15 free calling features including caller ID, voicemail and simultaneous ring with no cancellation fees.
"TeleBlend has always strived to provide the most affordable unlimited phone service in the industry. With the launch of our new $99 Annual Plan, we feel that we have accomplished that goal and not only made phone service more affordable to households around the nation but also more convenient."
Since the new unlimited $99 Annual Plan is a limited time offer, the question now becomes, "How much will it be in one year?" ONE MILLION DOLLARS!
Actually, SunRocket's deal was 2 years for $99.95 (NOT 299/year). btw....they went belly up a couple of months after first making that offer!
Actually they did have a $299/year plan. Here's the Google proof:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=sunrocket+%24299&ie=UTF-8
As of today, some TeleBlend customers have had no incoming service for several days.
See:
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r23202778-Teleblend-number-not-in-service
This is not good, especially the lack of explanation.
Hi, what do you guys think of VOIPo ( http://www.voipo.com/1660.html )?
they have a plan for $8.25/Month with Unlimited Calling and Free Activation.
also are you familiar with toll free services? they have a plan for toll free number for $3 a month with 100 min.
do you know any better plans out there?
Not sure why you would bother with Teleblend. If you don't have Teleblend already, as with most VoIP services, you'll have to pay something to switch to their service, buy an adapter, possibly pay to shut off your current service, optionally port a number. Out the door price after fee/tax must be taken into account. Plus they are still a pretty small player unrecognized by anyone other than those who had Sun Rocket with a history of service problems. Teleblend's annual rate and monthly rate has been going up with more hidden garbage fees that are disguised into looking like a government fee.
Skype with a Belkin Deskphone, SkypeIn, and SkypeOut service can get VoIP service without having the computer on and at a lower running cost than Teleblend from a company that is owned by E-bay. Skype has a huge user base in Europe.
Other option for not leaving the computer on is Ooma. "Lifetime" phone service included in the hardware they sell at Costco.com for about $200. They also sell it at Frye's, Best Buy, Amazon, etc. Best part about buying from Costco is that you can return it to the warehouse if something goes wrong--like the Sun Rocket bust. My understanding is that if you buy Ooma Core (which includes the Scout), you aren't subject to the $11.75/year regulatory recovery fee that you might be subject to if you bought Ooma without the hub. I believe they don't sell the Ooma Core at the physical Costco store (they sell Ooma without the Scout) but they do sell at Costco.com.
I've used both Skype and Ooma. Skype gets busy sometimes but no serious problems. I've never had a single issue with Ooma--quality is as good or better than regular phone line and never had a single dropped call. Either way, it won't be too difficult to figure out the likelihood to save money over Teleblend is huge with minimal risks. If I look at the marketplace, teleblend has a greater chance of failure than Skype or Ooma. Both Skype and Ooma has some retail presence. Teleblend has none. Yes, you'll pay more for initial cost to buy an Ooma device than getting teleblend started but probably not as much as you would think. The difference is likely to be quickly absorbed by Teleblend's monthly or annual fee. It costs money to switch around phone service--especially if you want to keep your old number. So why bother with a service that had issues when they aren't really a cost leader?
Magic Jack is another idea--low startup cost but if you want to receive calls, you must keep the computer on all the time since it is a USB device. Plus, service hasn't been great for everybody.