Comwave is one of the major VoIP providers in Canada, having first introduced telephony services to the Canadian public in 1999. But since then, many other VoIP providers have come along looking to overthrow the leaders. The fact is there are many options, other than the big Cable and Telco companies. Fast forward to 2021 Comwave is in a very competitive Canadian VoIP market, but definitely has depth, advertising money (who has not seen the old commercials with Tie Domi?), and somewhat brand recognition on their side. With that said let’s take a look at an annual comparison on how Phone Power compares to Comwave.
Do you always get what you see?
Adapters:
Both Comwave and Phone Power give you a free equipment lease on their locked-in devices for as long as you subscribe to their service. Neither device is capable of connecting over Wi-Fi, so the adapter itself needs to be connected to the internet router. Phone Power’s ATA is an Obihai that will let you connect two phones to the device, with a capacity of two lines per account. Phone Power allows for the second cloned phone line for free. In either case, when you have a second line when a call comes in while you are on the phone, the off-hook phone gets a call waiting for the beep, and the second phone rings. The second cloned phone option lets one person talk on the phone all day without tying up the line for everyone else. It’s a good option to have when you have several people in one house and want to make calls at the same time. Comwave appears to be using Grandstream ATA adapters.
App Support
Two other options in addition to traditional landline phones are using a mobile device and using a softphone. The Comwave app ePhone is available on Blackberry, iOS, and Android, and lets you call other devices that are using the app for free, also it does allow you to receive calls for free. Though the ePhone is not integrated with Comwave’s Home Phone is a completely different number. In order to use the ePhone to make phone calls, you need to sign-up for a plan that starts at $5.00/mo. The Phone Power softphone is available for Windows and Mac for free and is fully integrated with the Home Phone; good to receive and make calls and has the ability to record calls too. Phone Power’s app for iOS & Android continues with the full integration with the Home Phone number. It’s good to make and receive calls and works on 3G, 4G, LTE, and/or Wi-Fi networks.
Pricing
Phone Power offers a very tempting low price, more so when you factor in Gonevoip’s exclusive discount and special monthly rate. Comwave’s plan is to give you a limited time offer of 6-months for free, but it’s actually under the condition that you sign for a 3-year contract and that you port your number (*). After that, it costs $21.90/mo. The total price for two years, therefore, is $525.60. Phone Power, on the other hand, offers is about $194 for two years. This works out if you prepay for one year, and the second year is included for free, you just have to pay taxes and fees. Phone Power’s Gonevoip monthly special price is cheaper. Shall be noted Phone Power rates are in USD, but in Gonevoip’s site and for this comparison we have converted them to CAD (using www.xe.com)
Features
Comwave and Phone Power, like all VoIP providers, are heavy on features that many POTS providers charge a premium. Here are some of the most popular features:
- Caller ID (in/out)
- Call Waiting
- Privacy Settings
- 3-Way Calling
- Online Portal for settings, voicemail, call logs
- Mobile App for settings, voicemail, call logs
- In-Network Calling
- 411
- E-911
- Find Me/Follow Me
- Do Not Disturb
- Failover Number
- Call Forwarding to any phone number
- Email voicemail notification
Comwave Exclusives
- ePhone
- Speed Dial Memory
- Comwave-2-Comwave
Phone Power Exclusives
- Option to choose Codec(s) to Save Bandwidth
- Softphone integrated with Home Phone
- Smartphone app integrated with Home Phone
- Record conversations
- Click-2-call
- Caller Block List
- TXT message from the Smartphone App
- 60 Free International Minutes
About Support
Comwave offers phone support in the EST time zone, from 9 AM till midnight during weekdays and on weekends from 10 to 6 PM. Phone Power offers technical support From 6 AM to 7 PM PST Monday through Friday and 10 AM to 4 PM PST on weekends.
Verdict
In the head to head comparisons, Comwave has consistently taken a beating from Phone Power. Comwave has some more work to do with its terms of service, cut down on using contracts, and improving customer experience. Consumers’ reviews, show Comwave having 65% negative reviews compared to Phone Power 91% positive. Based on the customer reviews Comwave gets is reasonable to conclude, what you get is NOT what you saw or thought. With that said and in this year’s comparison Phone Power is positioned as a better choice.