I have been a Lingo user since late 2004. My signup process was relatively pain free. My phone number was ported without any problems and I was on my way to cheap phone calls.
Over the time that I have had lingo, I have had my fair share of problems though. Initially, back in 2004, it went down every few days. While this has improved significantly over time, it still goes down once every couple of months. I have stuck with it though (mainly for the free European calling) as both my wife and I have cell phones which we can use in case of problems with Lingo.
Here's a summary of ups and downs.
Pros
- Cheap; approx $20-$25 per month
- Unlimited US, Canada and Western Europe
- Features included; caller ID, call waiting, voicemail.....
Cons
- Not as reliable as regular home phone service
- If your internet connection or power goes out, so does lingo
- Not always as clear as regular home phone service, especially if you are using your internet connection for uploading/downloading big files
- Customer service hold times can be long
If you are trying to compare Lingo with other companies, I would suggest you think about your reasons for getting a VOIP service. For me, the free European calling was the major draw. ALL VOIP services go down from time to time. None of them are perfect. I have friends who use other VOIP services and all of them complain the same amount.
Would I get Lingo (or any other VOIP service) as my only phone service at home? NO. But with a cell phone as a backup, it works for me. After doing your research, if you still want to sign up, I would be happy to refer you and save both of us $25 on our bills. Just email me your name and email address to lingoreferral (at) hotmail (dot) com
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