Incoming caller ID

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arcani
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Re: Incoming caller ID

Post by arcani » Tue May 31, 2011 4:17 pm

Hi,

I've had ooma for about a week now and am loving the product.
I'm a Premier subscriber and wanted to run by you guys again just to make sure.

So I have the integrated landline option, and subscribe to CallerID via AT&T. My question is if I can cancel the Caller ID for incoming calls on my landline and still have ooma fill in the caller ID via some internet database?

Currently, it sounds like Caller ID with landline integration has some kinks they're trying to work through. It also sounds like we must have callerID subscribed with AT&T in order to get incoming caller ID for the landline number.

Over the long haul, what does Ooma intend to do for their Premier customers that use landline integration?

1. Fix up the Caller ID thing with the landline integration, but customers will keep having to pay their phone company in order to get Caller ID.
2. Enhance Ooma Premier service so that customers with landline integration can get Caller ID even without subscribing to it via their landline.

My personal opinion is that this is a nice value-add and a cool thing that Ooma could do for their Premier subscribers. Not only will the subscribers enjoy the Premier features, but they'll also be rewarded by being able to cancel the landline caller-ID service to offset the Ooma Premier subscription. I like Ooma Premier so far, but if Ooma could add the feature described in #2 above, I can see myself staying with Premier for years to come.

Please let me know.

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lbmofo
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Re: Incoming caller ID

Post by lbmofo » Tue May 31, 2011 4:22 pm

FYI, Ooma is moving away from landline integration. New Telos being sold no longer have "wall" ports.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=11535&start=20#p80775

murphy
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Re: Incoming caller ID

Post by murphy » Tue May 31, 2011 4:33 pm

With landline integration if the landline doesn't have caller ID service there is no caller ID available to display.
Most of us recommend against landline integration because we want to dump our landline phone bill.
Customer since January 2009
Telo with 2 Handsets, a Linx, and a Safety Phone
Telo2 with 2 Handsets and a Linx

arcani
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Joined:Tue May 31, 2011 4:05 pm

Re: Incoming caller ID

Post by arcani » Tue May 31, 2011 4:58 pm

Hi Guys,

I'm with you guys on dumping the landline. I'd like to do it too, but am keeping it for the just in case scenario.

Part of the reason I'm not ready to dump the landline yet is the concern for emergencies. I've got my alarm hooked to the landline, and AT&T confirmed that if I get a dry loop DSL I won't have a dial tone at all. So no 911 calls if I cancel.

I understand that Ooma has E911, but I'm not fully convinced yet. The concern as you guys may have heard ad nauseum is what if the DSL/internet goes down? The answer is usually use your cell phone. While I think the cell phone alternative has merit, my perception for a landline is that it is still less susceptible to failure in times of emergencies (natural disasters for instance). There are many articles if you google them, and it's hard for me to find support that a voIP line or even cellphone wireless line would be as good or effective as a land line in these situations.

As a side complaint, why doesn't E911 work with landline integration? I understand that the reasoning is that we already have a landline to call 911, but redundancy for emergency situations is never a bad thing.

Thanks.

murphy
Posts:7554
Joined:Tue Jan 27, 2009 12:49 pm
Location:Pennsylvania

Re: Incoming caller ID

Post by murphy » Tue May 31, 2011 5:04 pm

I also have an alarm system and kept a basic landline for it. It is the cheapest plan available. No regional calling and no long distance calling. I ported my number to Ooma and got a new number for the landline. No one but me knows what the number is. It is not connected to the Ooma system. There are no phones with ringers active connected to it. I can use it to make an emergency call if necessary.
Customer since January 2009
Telo with 2 Handsets, a Linx, and a Safety Phone
Telo2 with 2 Handsets and a Linx

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lbmofo
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Re: Incoming caller ID

Post by lbmofo » Tue May 31, 2011 5:38 pm

In landline integration mode, 911 calls go out via your landline (all incoming and outgoing local and toll free calls too).

arcani
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Re: Incoming caller ID

Post by arcani » Tue May 31, 2011 5:56 pm

murphy wrote:I also have an alarm system and kept a basic landline for it. It is the cheapest plan available. No regional calling and no long distance calling. I ported my number to Ooma and got a new number for the landline. No one but me knows what the number is. It is not connected to the Ooma system. There are no phones with ringers active connected to it. I can use it to make an emergency call if necessary.
murphy, your setup is very similar to mine, except I'm keeping the original number as the landline number. Don't feel like mucking with the porting hassles and all the side effects I could get with the alarm system. It's probably not that big a deal if I sink some time into it, but right now I just don't want to spend that time.

IMHO Ooma could probably find a way to access a central lookup table and provide the caller ID feature without having us pay for it at the land line side. Then again, I'm not a telephony guy. And also then again, I'm subscribing to Premier, and it'd be nice if the company provided caller ID w/ integrated landline included in Premier as an added incentive for us to keep subscribing Premier over the long haul.

arcani
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Joined:Tue May 31, 2011 4:05 pm

Re: Incoming caller ID

Post by arcani » Tue May 31, 2011 5:58 pm

lbmofo wrote:In landline integration mode, 911 calls go out via your landline (all incoming and outgoing local and toll free calls too).
Oh I see. Since there's only one way for the 911 call to go out when you call, it only goes out through the more reliable line (landline). Hence no E911.

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tomcat
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Re: Incoming caller ID

Post by tomcat » Tue May 31, 2011 8:29 pm

arcani wrote:IMHO Ooma could probably find a way to access a central lookup table and provide the caller ID feature without having us pay for it at the land line side. Then again, I'm not a telephony guy. And also then again, I'm subscribing to Premier, and it'd be nice if the company provided caller ID w/ integrated landline included in Premier as an added incentive for us to keep subscribing Premier over the long haul.
Using landline integration, Ooma cannot provide CallerID services. It can only be done by the phone company that is actually processing the call, which in your case is AT&T. Ooma (ie Telo or Hub) is merely connecting your phones to the landline, but your landline is still processing the call. The same goes for any local or toll-free outgoing calls - the Telo merely connects your phone to the landline. The only time a call is actually handled by Ooma (and not your landline) is when you make an outgoing long distance toll call.

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