Commentary: Ooma is funny name, serious savings

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Goodbye landline. Hello ooma.

With my new ooma telephone system, Google Voice and my cell phone, I should save a lot of cash.

Occasionally I update topics I’ve previously covered, and that’s what I’m doing here. Ooma, a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) system, received a glowing recommendation from Milwaukee attorney Joe Seifert in an article I wrote in December.

Seifert paid $241 for ooma several years ago. Like all technologies, it’s gotten cheaper. We ordered our ooma Telo at JR.com for $179, with free shipping and handling, and it arrived three days later.

With ooma, you make a one-time investment by buying the device bundle. You don’t pay for monthly service, and can make free calls to any phone in the U.S. (ooma sells credits for international calling as well, but I didn’t try that). You don’t have to have your computer on to use the device, as you would with Magic Jack, one of ooma’s top competitors.

It took my tech-savvy husband about 20 minutes to unpack, read the enclosed literature, set it up and activate the system by visiting the ooma website. Almost instantly, we had phone service. It probably would’ve taken a mere mortal like myself something like two hours. The good news is, the instructions don’t resemble “War and Peace.”

Since then, I’ve called friends and colleagues all across the nation to make sure we’d be satisfied with the sound quality. I did hear myself echo with one call between Wisconsin and Tennessee, my new home state, but for the most part, it’s been fine on my end. The people I’ve called, when asked about the sound quality (they didn’t immediately notice a difference), ranged in their responses from “excellent” to “a little tinny.” But they all said I was clear.

I’m told that the dependent factor is the quality of your Internet connection. So if you experience sporadic service interruptions with your Internet, you should probably nix ooma and all VOIP technologies for now, regrettably. Go to Voipreview.org to test the speed of your connection.

I noticed on that first day that our caller ID said “ooma.” That wouldn’t do — no one would pick up my calls, assuming it’s an ooma telemarketer or someone else they don’t know. It took just a few days for that to change, with our account name now showing up instead – ooma’s FAQs say it can take up to two weeks. Whew! Now people can knowingly dodge my calls.

An option to avoid that is to port your existing number, for $40. Not surprisingly, we were too cheap for that. But, if you sign up for ooma Premier, at $120 per year, porting your well-established number is free and there are some nice extra features, such as an instant second line, three-way conferencing and distinctive ringing. Ooma cautions, however, that the porting can take up to five weeks.

I didn’t mention in December’s article that ooma limits your monthly minutes to 5,000 for outbound calling. I did the math: That’s more than 83 hours per month and if you talk that much on the phone, you’re probably talking too much. But, have a reliable cell phone as a backup, just in case.

About that cell phone: If you have a newer model, it very likely has a GPS chip in it, so if you dial 911 your call will be relayed to the proper authorities. Likewise, ooma offers 911 service as well, where you must enter your physical address when you activate the device. Your cell phone and ooma are both using Enhanced 911, also known as E911, to direct your call to the closest public safety answering point. In the past, lack of 911 was a valid objection to using ooma and other VOIP services. No more.

I’m using ooma in conjunction with Google Voice, so it’s free for people to call me within the 414 area code; my number is 414-375-9759. Those calls are routed to my ooma number in the 615 area code in Tennessee or my cell (my choice).

If I don’t pick up, Google Voice transcribes the message and e-mails or texts it to me. Pretty slick.

My landline cost $40 per month including “surcharges and other fees.” Plus, I paid $12 per month, plus ten cents per minute, for an 800 number that I’ve discontinued. So within about four months, ooma will have paid for itself. I’m sure I’ll find a better way to spend that extra $52/month.

I’d like to hear about your experience with ooma. Call me on the above-listed Google Voice number. Better yet, stop by Wisconsin Law Journal’s booth at the State Bar of Wisconsin annual convention May 5-7 in Madison, to share your ideas for saving money in the law office.

On the Web:
http://www.ooma.com
http://www.voipreview.org/voipspeedtester.aspx
http://www.google.com/googlevoice/about.html