A comparison between 2 VOIP providers : Vbuzzer and Unlimitel for Canadian SIP service.
If you are comparing the price of both provider you don't see much difference. The first impression is that Vbuzzer is cheaper since for 2.26$ (US) you can get unlimited incoming calls since Unlimitel offers for 2.50$ (Ca) only the DID number, and you will pay extra 1.1c per minute per incoming calls. A disadvantage for Vbuzzer is that they don't support officially a ATA device connected to your phone, only they soft-phone. Unlimitel doesn't provide you with a softphone but, of course you can get that for free for a third party (i.e. X-lite from Counterpath) , but they provide you with configuration for any ATA device and Asterisk.
If you are comparing the outgoing calls rates, than Unlimitel is the cheapest since the rate for that is 1.1c also, the same as incoming for all local calls and on-net calls. On-net means in the areas where they have equipment (Most of Ontario plus all other major Canadian cities). The other NA locations are 2c per minute (including States), while Vbuzzer offers the same rate 1.5c(US cents) for all local and long distance. Since you probably make more local calls in most cities, I would say Unlimitel has still better choice for outgoing calls.
If you are thinking to replace the traditional POTS line you may want to find if the voip service you are choosing has a Emergency 911 service. In our comparison is simple : Vbuzzer doesn't have it, but Unlimitel does, and there is no extra cost for that. You have the option to activate the E911 for an extra 10$, but again that is just an option. (E911 is a service that allows them to know exactly where the 911 call has been made from; in case of an emergency you won't be asked about the address; this may be useful to save time...) If you want more peace of mind you may consider a backup cell phone just for 911 purposes or if you are using Vbuzzer you definitely need a cell-phone for that (think about a pre-paid service cellphone).
When you analize the extra features that both provider offer you'll see that voicemail is missing by default at Unlimitel, but is present at Vbuzzer as email sound files attachemts. That option is not always a good one, think about if you don't use your computer often, you will have to open it and log-in to your email account just to check the missed call - is not always the best. Unlimitel offer a better service for extra 4$ per month. That is a traditional dial in voicemail. In both cases you can of course install an answering machine at your ATA at no extra cost and without any other inconveniences. One good thing about Unlimitel here: if somebody is calling you let's say on a cell phone and you are not reachable and you don't have a voice mail, it will ring "forever", I mean for a long time, it will not give any service machine that usually costs the caller even there is no voicemail, since with Vbuzzer even if you disconnect your voice mail, the caller will still get a message that will charge him. Let's go back now to calling costs.
Let's analyze a bit the incoming costs for the 2 providers. Vbuzzer incoming cost is $0 for any incoming call. Of course you can't compete with $0. If you care a lot about incoming calls and not much of outgoing, then Vbuzzer is a cheap solution. There are some alternative also to receive free incoming calls with unlimitel as well but they don't depend on the provide and you need some extra knowledge and is not the subject of this article. You have to ballance what you use mor: a lot of incoming calls and not much outgoing (see Vbuzzer) or most outgoing calls and not so many incoming (see Unlimitel). Ahyhow Unlimitel offers unlimited incoming and outgoing calls for different geographical ranges at extra cost (18$ Ca for both your number and unlimited outbound), but maybe you don't need that. You can try Unlimitel to see after a monthly period how much you are paying for incoming, how much for outgoing calls. Then you can decide. Vbuzzer offers also unlimited outgoing local calls for 15$(Us) +2.26$(Us for your number) .
Last but not least let's talk about quality: My personal experience is that you can't trust Vbuzzer at all regarding quality. There are some factors you should care about here. For example what's happen when you internet connection is broken, your modem restarts, or just your router. I experienced a lot of issues with Vbuzzer like one way audio - very anoing, caller (almost) never hear the ring signal at his side (even my phone rings), an a lot of unexpected calls redirected to voicemail. That was not only my experience. You can see their forum for more about this. It is true that lately they improved their system but I am still skeptic about some aspects. Vbuzzer will be more like a so called "best effort voip". Still they may attract customer with their free fax and web video. On the other side with Unlimitel I haven't seen any of the problems mentioned above. They are reporting all maintenance or modification on their network via email so you are always informed about what's happening. The good think is that from the phone point of view I felt like nothing (bad) is happening with Unlimitel network. It's been working without interruption, and the voice quality is always fine. Good luck deciding and have a good voip experience.
Article source: millionguides.com