First week with Comcast Digital Voice: it just works

We've been on Comcast Digital Voice for about a week after nearly 5 years with Vonage. Verdict? I'm pleasantly surprised: just like Google, the service (so far) has the "it works" feature.

I must say it is a relief that I don't think about my phone service anymore: people can hear me and I can hear them (I actually had to turn down the volume on my handsets because the VOIP box must be pumping out a stronger signal to my phone). Things with Vonage had gotten so bad, I'd have to do phone calls with two phones -- listening to my regular phone (Vonage) with speaking into my cellphone (AT&T). Not a pretty picture.

Anyway, a few other feature advantages to Comcast Digital Voice vs. Vonage for people thinking about taking the plunge:

• Again, it just works. I've read calls get routed over a private Comcast-managed network as opposed to the public Internet. Apparently this is how they are delivering the "it just works" feature. To me, it feels like the phone and Internet service are totally separate. Not sure if this is technically accurate, but I've had (shhh, don't tell anyone) moment where I'm on the phone, watching YouTube, doing a Webex, and doing a broadband speed test all at once. Phone call quality didn't glitch once.
• Local dialing is local dialing again. Just like the old phone company but unlike Vonage, I can dial 7 digits for local calls. Kinda refreshing actually. (OTOH, long distance calls actually need to prefaced by 1, unlike Vonage).
• Better voicemail on the Web GUI. Comcast's voicemail-on-the-Web feature lets you forward the voicemails to other people, a nice feature. Also the UI for listening to messages is friendlier since it doesn't pop up a separate external media player for every message you listen to.
• Easier voicemail from the phone. There's an option to skip the password check if you're fetching voicemail from your home phone. Nice.
• Automatic E911 service. You don't have to explicitly register for E911 service. For some reason, even though Vonage knew exactly where I lived by virtue of having sent me their VOIP box, I still had to manually sign up for E911. Go figure.
• Phone calls without power. The integrated cable modem and VOIP box has a battery backup. In theory I can talk for 8 hours even without power from the mighty PG&E.

On the flip side:

• Different Web interfaces. Switching between the many different Web front ends for managing your phone service, billing, and email is needlessly confusing. Because Comcast outsources billing (Convergys), email (Zimbra), voicemail, and basic account management to different companies, there are at least 4 completely different Web interfaces for reading email, managing your phone features, looking at your bill, and managing your Web features. They didn't even try to make them look like they are offered by the same company.
• Confusing Website navigation. The Comcast family of websites is disjointed. The product teams (e.g., phone, TV, billing, video-on-demand, Web) obviously don't talk with one another, and navigation is confusing. And don't even get me started on their completely retarded cable TV Web site. I dare you to go find out what the channel lineup is in your area. Even after you've logged in and they know enough to route your E911 call.
• No SimulRing. Comcast does not have Simultaneous Ring, only Call Forwarding. So if you had gotten addicted to that Vonage feature, Comcast flat out just doesn't have it. Call Forwarding places a "courtesy" ring on your main number and forwards it on to the number you pick. It's a courtesy ring because no matter how fast you pick up the phone, there's no way to answer it.
• Typically inaccurate and impossible to read bill. Naturally, the first bill from Comcast after the switchover was completely incomprehensible and nearly twice what I agreed to pay. At some point, I'll have to call and figure out what that's all about.
• Long time to port my number. It took them about 3 weeks to schedule the appointment for the technician to come out and swap my cable modem. Apparently negotiating the number port with Vonage is tricky, so not sure this is Comcast's fault.
• Took the better part of a day to get me running. It took a village to get me hooked up and to the point where I wasn't dropping phone calls and my Internet connection every 3 minutes: two technicians (one of which I had to call 4 times and summon back to my house twice), 4-5 phone reps, 2 cable modem/VOIP boxes, and 3 replaced physical network doohickeys. Total elapsed time: 6.5 hours. Percent of time I was on work conference calls during that stretch: 100%.

All in all, I'm glad we switched and I can stop thinking about whether people will be able to hear me when I call them. I completed the phone torture test last night: Webcast and phone call with Asia-Pacific for 1.5 hours -- and it just worked.