So Long, AT&T CallVantage, I Will Miss You

Started by Daniel A

A dirty little secret for anyone who's ever called me on my home phone, or anyone I've called from my home phone, is that my home phone isn't actually a landline—for a few years now. My home phone is actually VoIP based - via AT&T CallVantage. I had the opportunity to test all the major consumer VoIP services when they first came out in the early to mid 2000s and found that AT&T CallVantage had the best mix of performance and features. It wasn't the cheapest - but it was still a lot cheaper than traditional landline phone service for both local and long distance calls. Impressed nonetheless, I decided to swap my landline for an AT&T CallVantage VoIP line.

However, what I gained in features (like email voicemail notifications) and a lower phone bill, I gave up in reliability. Not that I've had any major issues with the CallVantage service - it's been reliable almost all of the time. I can only remember one outage of CallVantage service, and I've probably only had to restart the Telephone Adapter (TA) about a half dozen times in the roughly three years I've had it (yes, I'll admit you don't do it landline phone never needs to be restarted). No, the problem is that it depends on my broadband connection, which unfortunately hasn't been reliable over the years. If my broadband connection goes down, my phone service goes down too. When I lived in East Brunswick, New Jersey, every time it rained (and it rained a lot in East Brunswick), my broadband connection would get shaky. My broadband connection is better where I live now (Jersey City, New Jersey), but I still experience occasional service outages. Also, if I ever lost power (and I did once) I would also lose my VoIP phone service as both my broadband modem and TA require AC power.

Most regular VoIP service users are all too familiar with these limitations. In addition to being dependent on a broadband connection and requiring constant external power, VoIP services do not provide the same 911 services as landlines. When you call 911 from a landline, the call is automatically routed to the nearest (or most appropriate) 911 call center and the specific location (i.e. address) the call is coming from and your phone number are usually displayed on the screen of the 911 operator. VoIP phone services are IP-based and can basically be used anywhere that has access to a broadband internet connection. All VoIP providers are required by law to provide 911 access; However, this is only possible if the user has manually specified the address where the TA is connected (this is one reason why it is easy for VoIP calls to spoof their real locations). But even if your registered address is correct, there's no guarantee your VoIP provider will connect a 911 call to your local 911 dispatcher. Some VoIP providers forward 911 calls to regional or non-emergency call centers, where they don't automatically receive your phone number (so they can call you back if necessary) or your address.

All of these limitations add up to the general warning that VoIP is a great alternative as a second phone line, but not necessarily the best choice as a primary (or sole) phone. Of course, if you also have a cell phone, you can always use it as a backup if your broadband connection or electricity might go out - although that doesn't necessarily solve the 911 problem.

As an early adopter and someone willing to deal with the occasional technical headache (we early adopters call them "challenges"), despite these limitations, I've been very happy with CallVanatge. (My wife, on the other hand, keeps asking me when they're going back to landline.)

So imagine my heartbreak (and my wife's possible justification) when I opened a letter from AT&T that ended with "An important message about your AT&T CallVantage service," which informed me that "AT&T will retire AT&T CallVantage service in 2009.” I should have seen it coming as other VoIP providers like NetZero Voice, AOL Internet Phone Service, and Verizon VoiceWing died, as did other consumer VoIP providers who are transforming their businesses to instead offer SIP-based telecom solutions For Businesses In fact, AT&T stopped accepting new CallVantage customers last August.

I decided to call AT&T's PR guys to get a better idea of ​​why they're doing this. It turns out I had called the day before AT&T was scheduled to deliver their first-quarter 2009 earnings report, and as you'd expect, they were a little busy. Oops... My mistake. But even though they had much bigger fish to fry than I did, I got a call back from an AT&T spokesman later in the day. She explained that there are essentially two main factors driving AT&T's decision. The first is simply that AT&T has noticed a waning interest in the CallVantage service. Second, AT&T is more interested in focusing its efforts on its other growing services, such as B. its U-verse service (which also happens to offer a VoIP-based phone solution).

It's not that VoIP is endangered — in fact, it's still actively penetrating the mainstream and is likely to overtake traditional landlines in US homes; It's just that the paradigm has changed and most people now bundle their home VoIP services with other services, like AT&T's own U-Verse service, Verizon's FIOS service, or Time Warner's Triple Play cables. The AT&T spokesperson told me that of the remaining 48,000 CallVantage customers, about 25 percent are eligible for the U-verse service.

Unfortunately, New Jersey isn't one of the 14 states where U-Verse is available, so that's out of the question for me. I have a little time to decide what I want to do about the future of my home phone service. The AT&T spokesperson explained that the letter I received was only the first notice of service termination to all CallVantage customers and that the actual disconnects will occur in six phases over the coming months, eventually all in December be switched off. Customers will receive notifications in the mail eight weeks and again four weeks before the scheduled end of their service. A CallVantage phone support representative told me that email and voicemail reminders will also be in place as a customer's date of separation approaches.

I inquired about number portability, and the AT&T rep told me that "CallVantage customers can keep their number if they switch to another AT&T service." The CallVantage phone support rep also informed me that AT&T will also assist me in porting my number to other non-AT&T based service providers, but there is no guarantee that those other service providers will comply. Unlike traditional landline telephone numbers (POTS), VoIP numbers are not required by law to be portable.

I'm trying to be cost-conscious these days - after all, we're in a recession and I'm a freelance technology journalist (which, believe it or not, isn't exactly the highest-paying job). So spending the money on a landline that includes local and long distance is not an option (apologies in advance to the wife). I'm deciding between Vonage and Comcast's Digital Voice Service (Comcast is my broadband and cable TV provider). Ultimately, I'll probably choose the one that can port my current number and offers the best price. (Yes, I know Vonage is cheaper, but I might get a better overall deal with my cable and broadband if I opt for one of the Comcast bundles.)

Some of you may be thinking that Skype could be a cheap alternative, especially since there are a variety of wired and wireless Skype phone options that don't require a computer. I actually use Skype as my dedicated line of business. I pay $2.95 per month for an unlimited subscription in the US and Canada and another $18 per three months for an online number. This includes voicemail, caller ID and call forwarding. Everyone I call, or everyone who calls me on my work line, thinks I have a regular landline phone when I'm actually connected to my PC with a USB headset. However, when I need to make business calls after hours when my PC is off, I use a Netgear WiFi phone (no computer required, just a Wi-Fi connection). Connection quality is usually very good, but I've experienced a small handful of instances where the person on the other end couldn't hear me. Perhaps the only reason I'm reluctant to go with Skype for my home line is that Skype doesn't support 911 calls. Skype is open about this and suggests that people use Skype as a complement to their home phones and not as a replacement. (A little full disclosure here: I consulted about the Skype account with the company that does the PR for Skype.)

So that's the short story made up of my sad story of the imminent demise of the AT&T CallVantage service. In a weird, twisted way, I feel like I'm losing a friend. Goodbye CallVantage, I will miss you.

By: So Long, AT&T CallVantage, I Will Miss You