I heard about Ooma 2 years ago, but was reluctant to try it then because they were a fairly new company. They offer a one time $250 fee (for the equipment and setup) and you can cancel your landline account. I've also look into Vonage (they have a monthly fee which may be lower than landline but this seemed like a better deal). Ooma goes through the internet (the same concept as Magic Jack, Vonage). For people like me who still need a home phone (a lot of people just cancel their home phone altogether), Ooma is the way to go. I recently took advantage of an offer from Costco's online store where they threw in the Ooma handset and bluetooth along with the machine. (The bluetooth allows you to answer your cellphone calls to your Ooma line). I figure that if it didn't work out I could easily return it back to Costco.
When you sign up with Ooma, they give you a temporary number to try the setup and service. Before you sign up though, make sure that your landline DOES NOT share the same number as your internet service. If your landline bill is separate from your internet bill, then it means they are on separate lines and you can use Ooma. I needed to send faxes from time to time and while they do not guarantee that it will work 100% of the time, I read that faxes have gone through successfully. This is not for sending a lot of faxes but for those times that you need to send a page or two, Ooma delivers.
I paid an extra $40 to port over my current phone number and it took 10 days for the transfer to occur. There was no downtime in between, and you are advised NOT to cancel your landline account until after the porting has been successfully done. I have been with AT&T for 14 years (!) so I don't have a contract with them and should not be fined for porting the number nor cancelling my service.
You only need the Ooma handset if you will opt to sign up with their Premier service. Premier service is $100 a year which includes call forwarding, 3 way calling and 2 lines (you get a second number so you can use the Ooma handset to make a call on line 2, if somebody is using line 1). I haven't decided if I will upgrade to Premier (they give you 3 months free of Premier) so I still have some time before I make a decision. I am just happy to not have to pay $50/month for landline. Even if I do decide to upgrade to their $100/year Premier I would still have saved a lot of $$! (*Note you still have to pay taxes which is only about $5 or less a month depending on your zip code).
To send a fax, you need to dial *99PAUSE before the number (yes there is a "pause" function on fax machines). I was able to successfully send a 9 page fax and I'm glad I made the switch!
Update: (Feb 2012) Ooma's still working! They now have HD quality so the Ooma handset voice quality has improved. I only pay $4/month (for taxes). I signed up with their Premier when they had a promo for $60/year vs. $100/year this includes free calls to Canada (which I use a lot). If you don't need a landline but just want a second phone (to give to stores etc.. so it doesn't go to your cell get a free google voice number instead!)
Update (Mar 2013) Ooma's still working! People don't believe me when I tell them I spend around $60 a year (those are the taxes). Wish they are working on Ooma Mobile so we can save on cellphone bills.
Update (Aug 2013) I am using Ooma with our Panasonic Cordless Phones
Update (Mar 2013) Ooma's still working! People don't believe me when I tell them I spend around $60 a year (those are the taxes). Wish they are working on Ooma Mobile so we can save on cellphone bills.
Update (Aug 2013) I am using Ooma with our Panasonic Cordless Phones
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