Categories: Technology

Ooma: An Internet Telephone Service With Oomph!

I’ve used Skype for years, and as a way of making no-cost/low-cost calls, it’s really excellent. That said, the call quality can be a little shaky sometimes. It’s not bad, it’s just not up to landline standards – which you can easily live with because it’s so much cheaper. This is, however, the main reason why I’ve never seriously considered replacing my landline with Skype or some other Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service … until now.

Ooma recently sent me a Telo to try out and … wow, I was impressed! The company says this about the Telo:

“The Ooma Telo is our second-generation VoIP device. It plugs into any broadband Internet connection and existing home telephone. The device includes free nationwide calling and standard calling features such as caller-ID, call waiting, voicemail, and 911. Although it is easy to install and simple to use, the Ooma Telo is packed with advanced electronics–including a dual-core processor, 1GB of flash memory, wideband audio engine, and DECT base station–that allow it to deliver unparalleled call quality, powerful features, and unbeatable savings.”

Setup couldn’t be easier. You connect the Telo to your home internet network, connect your current telephone to the Telo, activate it online and … you’re all set. The basic service is 100% free and offers a broad range of features including:

Free nationwide calling
Voicemail
Call-waiting
Caller ID
E911 service
Prepaid international calling
And more

A Premier service is also available for $9.99 per month and offers:

Free calls anywhere in North America
Personal and community blacklists/spam blocking
Second line
911 alerts
Do not disturb – send calls to voicemail with the touch of a button
Three-way conferencing
And more

The Premier service is well worth the extra spend in my opinion. I absolutely love the spam blocking and blacklisting features – goodbye telemarketers! The 911 alerts are cool too – you can set things up so that you’re sent an email or text message should anybody in your house call 911.

And the call quality? It’s great! In fact, it’s so good that I’ve cancelled my landline service.

The Ooma Telo costs $199. Currently, it’s only available in the US and Canada, but once you have the unit, you can use it anywhere including overseas.

Image Credits: [Ooma]

Rhonda Callow

Based in a remote village on Vancouver Island where bears outnumber people, Rhonda Callow is a freelance blogger and editor who has worked with numerous leading high-tech companies. Rhonda is also a public relations and social media consultant and, in her free time, enjoys photography, camping, hiking, and anything and everything to do with the outdoors – except for bears, cougars, wasps, horseflies, spiders, bees, scurrying creepy crawlies and other critters that bite, look like they may bite or seem to be a little bit scary. When she is not working, Rhonda can be found spending time with her husband, son and 95lb. lab (who thinks he’s a human). You can email her at rhondacallow@gmail.com.