More details of how Ooma works are coming to light. Andy Abramson got part way through the install, and then chose to not continue because by agreeing to the Ooma terms, he was allowing Ooma to reconfigure his phone service. A number of folks I've spoken with have also reported the same. During my conversation with Ooma founder Andrew Frame he mentioned that they "stripped away" all the phone company features, which I didn't dig into further at the time. .
That reconfiguration may be a clue as to how Ooma provides some of it's capabilities. Some of us, for instance, have wondered how they're able to correctly show caller ID on an outbound "shared termination" call from the Ooma device. If Ooma were actually a carrier as well as a device manufacturer, that might answer the question. Needing to keep a carrier network running might also explain why the price point of the device is $400.
Pure speculation, of course. For now, the details of how Ooma works remain a mystery.
Alec Saunders is the Vice President of Developer Relations for BlackBerry make Research in Motion. This is his personal blog, with his personal viewpoints. Prior to this Alec was the CEO and co-founder of Calliflower — the easiest way to hold a meeting, online, on a conference call, or on the go. A double-decade veteran of product management and marketing, he spent nine years at Microsoft where he helped launch Windows 95, the first two versions of Internet Explorer, the Universal Plug and Play initiative, the push into home markets, opt-in email marketing and what might well go down in history as the very first direct email list ever.
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Perhaps there's a fee that needs to be paid to your carrier as well?
Me thinks part of the cost is to cover those “changes” too.
This issue about OOMA changing one's phone subscription is interesting. I thought the FCC established new rules to prevent a thrid party from seeing or changing your options. Even if you agree, how can they actually do it?
Anyway, I hope every potential subscriber understands the consequences.