That's because the good old fashioned land line phone and cell phone service have an internal network. Coast to coast it's all the same network. Whether it's Centurylink, Verizon (Landline), ATT, etc... they use the same system. They hand off to each other seamlessly. Voip relies on the internet. It relies on many different internet providers; different internet technologies; etc... That isn't voip's fault. Now, ask yourself, why Ma'Bell and cell service costs 5X more than voip? Sorry, but you can't have it both ways. People who come to voip, do so initially to save money. Well, you can't have the quality and reliability of a closed network at internet prices. Sorry, but it can't happen.

And you're right, voip probably won't become the phone service of the masses. But that's not voip's fault. It's the consumer's fault. It's their ignorance. You don't buy a ford focus as your only car if you've got a family of 6. You also don't buy it for hauling firewood out of the forest. I will say, if a person had internet access, hooked up their voip adapter and NO COMPUTERS or ANYTHING...... Just the internet and voip adapter..... I'd give you a 99.9% chance of perfect success. But then again, that's what a traditional landline is; isn't it. 1 service and 1 use.

So; why do you expect the same type of service? Shared network vs dedicated network and $10-$15 per month vs $50-$60 per month.