Ooma quietly adds a 3,000 minutes per month limit on their "unlimited" calling

Monday, December 1, 2008

I didn't see any announcements of this, but it was recently pointed out to me that the Ooma terms of use now includes a limit on "unlimited" calls of 3,000 minutes per month:

In addition you agree that any usage of more than 3,000 minutes per month will be deemed dispositive proof of Prohibited Use. In the event you engage in Prohibited Use, ooma reserves the right to terminate service without notice or, at ooma's sole discretion, to charge you at a rate specified on our Web site for calls that exceed the 3,000-minute per month limitation. This rate may be modified on our Web site from time to time.


That's probably more minutes than most people use. But if you're using less than 3,000 minutes per month, maybe you don't want an unlimited plan at all. You might be better off with a cheap pay as you go, per minute plan, depending on how long you think the Ooma box will last (service is for the life of the box, not the life of the purchaser). Most people will spend less than $20 per month, often far less, paying only for the calls they make. Think about how many calls you make on your cell phone instead your home phone - Ooma won't help you there. Or there are always annual plans like those from Skype and Magicjack to think about ($20-$40 per year - and also have similar monthly usage limits). Such plans equate to 8-10 years of Ooma service, and you don't have to pay so much up front. Will the Ooma hardware (and the company) last 8-10 years? Maybe, but it's something to think about, especially with these new 3000 minute per month limitations.

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