Frequently Asked Questions
Q. My ‘traditional’ telephone uses a telephone line
provided by the carrier. I understand that the Douglas
Telecom Service uses an Internet line. What is the
difference?
A. The Internet line and Internet based service uses a
more advanced and reliable technology, noticeable
immediately, especially in the quality of voice
communications. Besides, the crucial property of Internet
based telecommunications is that all information is
digitized (including voice). Digitization dramatically
improves performance, as when (for example) 45 and 33 rpm
records gave way to CDs.
Q. To access the Internet I need a computer, do I need a
computer to make and receive telephone calls?
A. No! No! No! If you asked this question, you may have
heard (or are probably thinking), of shareware software used
by ‘techies’ and various computer users to communicate
among themselves. You need to have an Internet line but, in
principle and in practice you do not need a computer. Of
course, if you have an Internet line (also referred to as a
DSL, Digital Subscriber Line), you probably acquire(d) it to
also utilize the Internet. If so, you have a computer. On
that computer you can see at any time any and all
information about your Telephone Traffic using our System.
Our software interface is simple and appealing. Its use will
show interesting data and statistics about telephone usage
in your family or business. And this may inspire you with
better ideas on how to use phone (and fax). Click
here for information on our unique, state-of-the-art Fax System.
Q. Do I need to turn my computer on to make or receive a
call?
A. No, and data about the call(s) will still be logged and
available for your perusal if and when you want it.
Q. What type of Internet Service do I need?
A. A DSL (Digital Subscriber Line), or a Cable Modem
connection, or any other connection faster than 128 Kbps in
and out (i.e. upload and download). You can still use the
service with slower connections, but our System would
compress data, resulting in tolerable but imperfect sound
and voice quality.
Q. Can I use my existing phones?
A. Yes, all you need is an adapter (referred to as VoIP
(Voice over IP) Adapter or Router). Usually one adapter per
household or business is all you need. The VpIP Adapter is
provided with our service – see Terms and Conditions). By
the way with this set-up you can also Send and Receive Faxes
(WITHOUT HAVING A FAX MACHINE). Click
here on our unique, state-of-the-art Fax System.
Q. I have two phones using one phone line, do I need to
make any changes, once I subscribe to your service? Do I
need to make any changes to my internal house or business
wiring?
A. No. Once you subscribe to our service, the telephone
company should disconnect its dial tone. It takes usually
two-three days for them to do so. As soon as the telephone
company dial tone is disconnected, you just connect one
cable from the Router to your nearest phone jack and your
set-up will be identical to what you currently have.
Should you need - before the telephone company dial tone is
disconnected - to use more phones than one, simply connect
the second phone to one of the additional ports on the
Router.
Q. Where do I connect the VoIP Router?
A. The VoIP Router is supplied with a cable that connects
the Router to the Internet Port on your DSL Modem or Cable
Modem.
Q. Is installation complex?
A. No, judge for yourself.
1. You connect your Phone to one of the phone
ports on the
Router (or connect a telephone cable from the Router to your
nearest phone jack).
2. Connect the Internet Cable (provided
with the Router) from the Internet port on the Router to the Internet Port on the DSL Modem
(usually supplied by the DSL (Digital Service Line)
provider).
3. Connect the Router to the power mains. Done.
Q. Can I use the Internet and the phone(s) at the same
time?
A. Yes, and you can even download large files (downloading
large files utilizes a good portion of the bandwidth). You
can do it because our system (and the Router) automatically
regulate the data flow (part of which is telephone voice and
part of which is Internet data). The bottom line is that the
phone user and the computer user do not notice any
difference.
Q. What is the warranty on the Router?
A. There is one year warranty, automatically extendable
for a small fee.
Q. Why is voice quality better with your System than with
standard telephone lines?
A. As mentioned above, voice and sounds are immediately
digitized at the source (your own phone(s)). Figuratively
speaking and comparing to the traditional system, it is as
if your phone(s) were installed directly at the central
telephone station (referred to in the trade as the ‘telephone
wholesaler’s network’). For the technically minded
inquirer, we use a 8000 Hz frequency with an 8-bit PCM
(Pulse Code Modulation), non compressed. This results in
crystal-clear audio send and receive. Short anecdotal fact.
The standard telephone communication system has conditioned
us to expect some hiss or background noise during a call.
There is no background noise with our VoIP system. Once you
install it, if you pause for a second or two you may hear
the other party ask you ‘Are you still there?’. The
superiority of the service is dramatically noticeable in
international calls. For one, the other party phones rings
immediately or in a fraction of the time you would normally
expect. Then, when the party answers he or she sound as if
they were ‘next door’.
Q. What type of connectivity you have?
A. We use fiberoptic connections with an aggregate
capacity of 100 MB upgradable to 1 GB.
Q. Can I transfer my current standard number(s) to your
VoIP service?
A. Yes, usually. The cautionary ‘usually’ applies to
cases (so far not found) when your current telephone carrier
may put some obstacles in the transfer. To transfer the
number(s) you fill a simple one-page transfer authorization
form and we do the rest. There is a $25.00 charge for
transferring an unlimited quantity of numbers from the same
carrier. If you are currently using more than one carrier,
there is a $25.00 charge per carrier to transfer their
telephone numbers. Our experience shows that it takes about
10 days for the transfer to occur.
Q. How do I transfer my current standard telephone service
to your VoIP service?
A. Here is the complete process.
1. Sign-up for the service and obtain a VoIP Router.
2. Fill out the short, one-page form requesting to transfer
your current number(s) to us.
3. Immediately use our service for outgoing calls until your
current telephone number(s) is/are transferred. We will NOT
charge you the monthly fee until the number(s) is/are
transferred. You will only be charged for long distance or
international calls. Of course, we will advise you
immediately after your telephone number is transferred.
Q. If I withdraw from your service for any reason will
there be extra fees? Can I transfer my numbers somewhere
else?
A. We will release your numbers and NO, there will
be no extra fees. This is but one and important
difference between us and others. Other companies often to
prevent you from leaving by applying various fees or with
other machinations and micro-extortions. We do NOT charge
fees and will closely follow current guidelines for number
transfer so as to effect it as quickly as possible.
Q. What happens if my Internet service fails?
A. It happens more and more rarely. We have no control on
this (What can be avoided whose end is purposed by the
mighty gods? W. Shakespeare, Julius Caesar). Even so,
your savings and quality improvement (let alone the added
service and convenience of on-line telephone data and other
features) vastly outweigh the effect of potential Internet
down-time. Still, we have some suggestions:
For home users. Use of cell phones is now universal and they
can be used during an emergency.
For business users. Some businesses keep one standard analog
phone line as a back-up. If Internet service is interrupted
you can either,
- Reroute calls to your analog line by accessing your
online account (with us) from another working Internet
locations, or
- Use the back-up analog line to call Douglas Telecom so
we can re-route your calls to your back-up line or to
Voicemail. Once the Internet is back up again, you can
re-route your calls to the standard lines, using your
Internet account.
Q. Must I enter into a time-commitment contract for using
your service? Are there any penalties if, for whatever
reason, I discontinue your service?
A. No, we do not require any time-commitment. If you are
not fully satisfied, you are free to leave at any time, as
long as your account is current and incurred charges have
been paid in full. There are no added penalties,
cancellation fees or any other fees.
Q. What connection fees do
you charge?
A. There are NO HIDDEN FEES with our service, no additional
connection fees, no activation fees, no added surcharges. See our
local telephone service plans
and published domestic long distance
and international rates for specific rate information.
Q. Do you offer "flat
rate" long distance?
A. Yes, we do. Our Unlimited
Plan is $24.95 per month and gives you unlimited calls within
the continental US.
Q. I heard that some
companies offer long distance at 5 cents per minute with a cap
of $25.00, do you have anything similar?
A. We do not and here is why. To get on that plan
($0.05/minute up to $25.00) they charge you a monthly fee on
top of the actual usage. Please see the comparison table below
to see how our unlimited plan stacks up against other "flat
rate" plans.*
| |
Call Quality
|
Keep
in Mind |
Overall
Cost |
| Sneaky Competitor A |
Super-compressed
with hiccups and substandard audio [what
is compression?] |
It is debatable at
how "unlimited" this plan is. If you
exceed 2000 - 3000 minutes, they will cut you off
without notice. If you complain, you will be
referred to the "reasonable unlimited"
clause in the Terms and Conditions. Watch out for
additional taxes and surcharges AND if you want to
cancel within the first 12 months, they will slap
you with a whopper of a cancellation fee. |
$24.95
plus taxes and surcharges |
| Greedy Competitor B |
Super-compressed
with hiccups and substandard audio [what
is compression?] |
All that applies for
Competitor A, including additional taxes and
surcharges. |
$39.95
plus taxes and surcharges |
| Devious Competitor C |
Pretty good |
This long-distance
plan is 5˘/min for up to $25.00 for usage, however,
the subscriber must also maintain an expensive local
line and pay a fee to subscribe to this flat-rate
long distance plan. Typically there is no
cancellation fee. |
approx.
$60.00 plus taxes |
| DTI's
Unlimited Plan |
Crystal clear audio
with NO compression |
Our plan is simple
and clear. $24.95 covers the telephone line and
unlimited calls within the continental US. |
$24.95
plus taxes** |
*There is a general
misconception that subscribers will get more for their money
with a flat-rate long distance plan. We call it the "Myth
of the Flat-Rate Plan". While some users do indeed make a
large amount of long distance calls every month, most
subscribers spend an average of $10.00 to $15.00 per month in
a twelve month period. In their case, they are better off just
paying for the actual minutes that they use, than for the ones
they don't.
But, you may ask, isn't it
nice to know that your bill will always be the same? Perhaps,
but it will always be the same HIGH amount. In the case of our
flat-rate plan, even if you do exceed the 4000 minute
allowance, the rate for your additional minutes is only a
reasonable 3˘ per minute. Keep ALSO in mind that while other
carriers round call charges to the nearest 30 or 60 seconds,
WE ROUND DOMESTIC CALLS IN ONE SECOND INCREMENTS. If your
domestic long-distance call lasts 31 seconds, you will only be
billed for those 31 seconds, not more, not less.
**The FCC ruled that VoIP
providers have to charge mandated local taxes and federal USF
and those are the only taxes and fees that we will charge in
addition to the monthly recurring charge and usage costs.
Q. I own a business and I
need to have a voicemail menu. Do I have to pay anything extra
for this?
A. No, a simple voicemail menu can be set-up and activated
using your online account. However, if you have any special or
complicated requirements, we can help you set-up a customized
voicemail menu.
