OOMA Phone

[Jeremy D. Scott]

I've been looking at OOMA (http://www.ooma.com/), perhaps even for our church. Does anyone have any experience with it? Good/bad?

(BTW, moderators, I didn't see a new technology forum. If I somehow missed it, feel free to move the thread.)

[Shea Zellweger]

I don't have any experience with OOMA in particular, but being a user of Skype Phone, it looks like pretty much the same product. Our Skype number and unlimited calling is something like $60-90/year depending on what features you use, and taxes in Boston for the OOMA would be about $42/year, so you'd start saving money around the 6th year of usage provided neither set of rates change. It looks like the only major difference is that OOMA offers 911 calling. I am more comfortable trusting a landline for that, as if someone cuts the power, your OOMA is going to be out, while your landline (provided you keep a corded phone around) will still work, unless they cut that too.

[Jeremy D. Scott]

I don't have any experience with OOMA in particular, but being a user of Skype Phone, it looks like pretty much the same product. Our Skype number and unlimited calling is something like $60-90/year depending on what features you use, and taxes in Boston for the OOMA would be about $42/year, so you'd start saving money around the 6th year of usage provided neither set of rates change.

Our situation is such that we're paying $55/month for a landline right now (horrible...I know). Taxes in Hingham would apparently work out to $3.47/month. We currently don't have internet to the church building (well...technically...I'm sitting in the church office right now on the internet, but it's the wireless from the parsonage next door, which I pay). So we'd have to get internet at the church (currently $19.99 for the first six months, then $42.95 thereafter).

So just in the first year:
Currently: $660 (12x$55)
OOMA: $669 ($250+$3.47x12+$19.99x6+$42.95x6)

So in the first year, the cost would be about the same (the second year would be slightly cheaper). But then we'd at least have internet into the church building as well (thus wireless for the whole building, including the sheltering space downstairs).

Can Skype transfer one's current phone number? I'm not sure that we would do this for the church unless we can keep our current number (although there are some aspects of having a new number which would be refreshing :smile:). OOMA can transfer our number.


It looks like the only major difference is that OOMA offers 911 calling. I am more comfortable trusting a landline for that, as if someone cuts the power, your OOMA is going to be out, while your landline (provided you keep a corded phone around) will still work, unless they cut that too.

This is more and more not the case. It isn't the case for us, as Comcast's routers come with battery packs in the event of a power outage.

[Shea Zellweger]

Our situation is such that we're paying $55/month for a landline right now (horrible...I know). Taxes in Hingham would apparently work out to $3.47/month. We currently don't have internet to the church building (well...technically...I'm sitting in the church office right now on the internet, but it's the wireless from the parsonage next door, which I pay). So we'd have to get internet at the church (currently $19.99 for the first six months, then $42.95 thereafter).

So just in the first year:
Currently: $660 (12x$55)
OOMA: $669 ($250+$3.47x12+$19.99x6+$42.95x6)

So in the first year, the cost would be about the same (the second year would be slightly cheaper). But then we'd at least have internet into the church building as well (thus wireless for the whole building, including the sheltering space downstairs).

Can Skype transfer one's current phone number? I'm not sure that we would do this for the church unless we can keep our current number (although there are some aspects of having a new number which would be refreshing :smile:). OOMA can transfer our number.

I don't believe it can, but you can get a local number for sure, or any other area code you would like. Mine is upstate New York. It sounds like your internet bill would be the larger issue. Is there nowhere you could get it cheaper than that? I just factored internet in since we've already got it in the parsonage, but if you'd have to pay that much for a connection just to run one device, I don't know that it's worth it.




This is more and more not the case. It isn't the case for us, as Comcast's routers come with battery packs in the event of a power outage.
well, our router does not :p