SunRocket Internet Phone Service review: SunRocket Internet Phone Service

SunRocket VoIP service

SunRocket Internet Phone Service offers a full roster of phone features, including Enhanced 911, for a mere $199 per year. That breaks down to $16.58 per month--cheaper than competing VoIP vendors such as BroadVoice, Lingo, and Packet8, all of which charge $19.99 per month, and significantly less than even the most basic landline service. (A monthly payment plan is also available, but the rate is $24.95.) You even get two phone numbers and a dual-handset, expandable phone system as part of the package. Our reviewer and our Labs-based VoIP tester found divergent results with regard to voice quality during uploads and downloads, which is not atypical for VoIP services; your mileage will vary based on your broadband connection and system specifications. Overall, we like the SunRocket service, but if you're wary about voice-quality issues, rest assured: SunRocket won't charge a cancellation fee if you decide the service isn't working out for you; the company will even refund the prorated balance of your annual fee if you cancel midyear.

From the moment we signed up online to the time our equipment arrived about a week later, working with SunRocket was a painless experience. We picked our two phone numbers from a list of about 30 choices, then set up the hardware. Our informal tests took place in a home outfitted with multiple PCs, a wireless router, and a cable modem.

Setup was a snap, thanks to SunRocket's illustrated quick-start guide. After connecting the proprietary AC-211-SR Gizmo telephone adapter to our modem and router and plugging in the phone, we had our dial tone in a matter of minutes. From there it took all of 30 seconds to activate voicemail, a Web-based process that requires you to choose a PIN and select the number of rings before calls get diverted. Recording your greeting and retrieving messages works much the same way as with your cell phone: you just dial in and follow the recorded prompts.

SunRocket's online portal provides complete access to your account information, voicemail, calling features, and a personal phone book. (Alas, you can't import names and numbers into the latter, but the company plans to add this capability in the future.) Everything is logically organized, easy to navigate, and effortless to configure.

SunRocket's portal gives you quick access to your voicemail accounts, call logs, and calling features, along with a feedback box for queries to the company.

In describing SunRocket's features, the phrase "embarrassment of riches" comes to mind. On top of unlimited local and long-distance calling, the service provides call blocking, call forwarding, call waiting, caller ID, three-way calling, and voicemail. You also get two phone numbers, one of which can have a different area code and a distinctive ring. The do-not-disturb feature automatically routes incoming calls to voicemail, while the Find Me option redirects calls to up to three other numbers.

SunRocket's voicemail is so cool, you'll wish for lots of missed calls. You can retrieve messages from your VoIP phone, an outside line, or the Web. When you have new messages waiting, the service alerts you in three different ways: the phone's LCD, which shows the number of new messages; a flashing red LED on top of the phone; and a distinctive stuttering dial tone. SunRocket also offers a wealth of remote notification options: e-mail, instant message, page, and phone call. In fact, you can opt to receive e-mail that contains the actual message as an attachment. The only wrinkle was that our IM aggregator, Trillian, wouldn't relay notifications. But they arrived fine when we used individual chat clients, such as MSN Messenger.

If you choose to listen to voicemail online, you'll have to use Internet Explorer--messages won't play in Firefox. Curiously, when we retrieved messages by phone, they sounded fine, but the streaming and downloaded versions contained static and sounded flat--most likely due to the compression used to keep the files small.

SunRocket's voicemail log shows the sender, the date, and the length of a message, and it lets you listen to your messages online.

Other Web-based features include call logs (for incoming, outgoing, and missed calls) and Click To Call, which lets you dial any number from your logs or online phone book. After you click the Click To Call icon, your phone rings. When you answer it, SunRocket places the call. Cool.

SunRocket's call logs show you both incoming and outgoing calls, the caller/call recipient, the phone numbers, the time and date of the call, and the duration of a call. You can also click to call directly from the call log.

The Gizmo telephone adapter is compatible with expandable wireless phone systems (the kind with one base and multiple stations). If you already have one, just plug it into the Gizmo. If not, SunRocket supplies the excellent 2.4GHz Uniden DCT 646-2 system (currently being offered as a sign-on bonus at SunRocket's Web site), which includes two handsets and supports the addition of two more. (Note: You need a promo code to get the phones. If you don't have one, just click the picture of the phone on the company's home page. It's the one with the big yellow bird perched on it.) Our only complaint with the phone is its slightly smallish dial pad.

Already ahead of the FCC's mandate for 911 services, SunRocket supports Enhanced 911, which routes your name and address to the operator in case you're unable to do so verbally. At press time, E911 wasn't available in all areas (though Basic 911 is), so check with the company before ordering. If you decide to keep your regular landline service, you can plug a phone cord from your wall jack to the Gizmo's Life Line jack and use your phone to call local 911.

SunRocket's only real shortcoming in features is its lack of support for faxing--a common limitation among VoIP services. According to a company rep, some fax machines may work with the Gizmo (which does have a second jack, so you needn't disconnect your phone), but you'll get no promise of consistent faxing.

It's worth noting that the $199 annual fee represents your sole out-of-pocket expense. SunRocket doesn't charge for activation or anything else--even shipping is free. The only time you'll pay extra is if you call directory assistance more than twice per month (additional calls cost 79 cents each) or you exceed your monthly international-call credit of $3. Calls within the United States and from the United States to Canada are free; the cost from the States to most other countries ranges from 3 to 16 cents per minute. Just as impressive, SunRocket imposes no fees if you cancel the service and will even refund your balance.

The SunRocket Internet Phone Service was tested formally by CNET Labs (following the Labs' VoIP testing methodology) and informally by our author. In our Labs' tests, the SunRocket VoIP service demonstrated nearly landline quality under baseline conditions (when nothing else was moving over the network). During uploads and downloads, however, our Labs tester found that the voice quality degraded significantly on the non-SunRocket side of the call, more so during data uploads. VoIP services differ widely in voice quality during downloads, because they implement quality of service (giving priority to voice packets over data packets) differently--some don't suffer degradation at all, while others result in distortion. During uploads, almost all VoIP services show some degradation, because most home and small-business broadband connections don't provide enough upstream bandwidth to support both voice and data transmission simultaneously.

On the other hand, our reviewer was not able to reproduce the voice-quality degradations that our Labs found, even after weeks of heavy use. Like the Labs, he reported nearly landline voice quality under baseline conditions; he did notice a sound echo when the network was engaged in bandwidth-intensive tasks, such as streaming music, but no dropped calls or audio drop-outs.

In addition to toll-free phone support, SunRocket offers real-time chat via its Web site. We asked an online technician about a problem, and while he quickly identified the problem, he was unable to resolve it. Instead, he instructed us to call SunRocket's support department. It's a toll-free call, and both phone-line and chat-room help is available daily from 8 a.m. to midnight ET--generous hours, but obviously, we'd prefer 24/7 support. We e-mailed our question to SunRocket during the hours when chat and phone support were unavailable, and to the company's credit, a helpful reply arrived within an hour.