Internet Phone Service

[djaco]

A couple of years ago, I got rid of my landline phone and got internet phone service through Packet8. It saved me nearly $700 a year and provided me with free caller id, call waiting, and a ton of other features that I have really found useful (example: when I get a voicemail, it is automatically sent to my email address - so I get my messages at work and when I'm traveling on business). I make a lot of long distance calls, which is why my savings are so great. Most people save around $500 a year because the internet phone service provides you with unlimited local and long distance calling for a flat monthly fee ($19.99 for my service).

In order to use internet phone service in your home, you need to have a broadband internet connection (cable is best - for the most cost savings). If you have broadband internet and make any long distance calls at all, you will save a lot of money by switching to internet phone.

I love my VoIP service so much, I got inspired to start a website about it. The site provides a review on the best VoIP providers to consider, and also gives a lot of information about the technology behind internet phone service.

VoIP is not for everyone, but it certainly was the perfect fit for me. If you're interested in learning more about the benefits of internet phone service, see my site (listed below).

[sunsetssplendor]

We recently switched to internet phone services b/c our
landline was so expensive. So far it's been okay with a few
glitches. One Saturday we couldn't make outgoing calls
but they were working on it when we logged onto the site
and within a short time it was back up and working.

[usi2004]

Sounds like a sales pitch.

[Vapors]

I have had VOIP for well over a year now. Overall I am very satisfied with it. I have AT&T's Callvantage. I love being able to sent some callers directly to voice mail or block them entirely. It's great for telemarketers who call several times a week.

The only downside is your cable goes down more often than your landline service. So we do sometimes not have phone service for a few hours. But that's pretty rare.

I pay around $38 (that includes all taxes/fees)a month for unlimited local and long distance with call blocking turned on. You can find it cheaper now, but I can't stand to give up my call blocking.

[poundwise]

Originally Posted by Vapors

I have had VOIP for well over a year now. Overall I am very satisfied with it. I have AT&T's Callvantage. I love being able to sent some callers directly to voice mail or block them entirely. It's great for telemarketers who call several times a week.

The only downside is your cable goes down more often than your landline service. So we do sometimes not have phone service for a few hours. But that's pretty rare.

I pay around $38 (that includes all taxes/fees)a month for unlimited local and long distance with call blocking turned on. You can find it cheaper now, but I can't stand to give up my call blocking.

I have also been on VOIP for over a year, paying less than $20 a month. I wouldn't go back to a traditional land line.

I would say that the speed (throughput) of your broadband access and quality of your ISP is important. I would not go VOIP with most of the "lite" broadband services.

I have only been without service twice, that I know of, in the past year due to a cable service outage. Once was brief and once was longer, though still only a couple of hours. I actually had more outages with my old land line service.

[tinapbeana]

FWIW: depending on the age of the wiring in your home, you could wind up having better voice quality and fewer outages with VoIP than with a traditional landline. for instance: the phone wires in my home are about 40 or 50 years old, whereas the cable wiring a year old... i hate to think what a traditional phone call could sound like on those ancient copper wires.

[JustinH]

I use skype. The sound quality blows away my sprint PCS cell phone, and I thought that was pretty good.

Their current deal is 34.99 for unlimited outgoing calls in the US for a year, and around 40 dollars per year for a local phone number that people can call you on.

I bought a VOIP phone at walmart for 22 bucks, and for around 100 bucks a year I can call anyone anywhere, and have a local number that I can take anywhere.

The only thing is there is no 911 service, but i have my cell phone for that.

[msnln]

I have also used Skype for past year and generally happy with it. Two issues I have are 1) that PC has to be on all the time for you to get calls on Skype and 2) if you are downloading something from internet, voice quality suffers.

I checked current prices and it's $29.95 for unlimited calls within US and Canada for year and $38 for year of local phone number, which is less than $6 a month for the service. International rates are comparable to calling cards. I bought USB phone adaptor which connects my regular phone to the PC for around $20 on Ebay. They also sell Wifi phones that work without PCs but they are all over $100.

I had my home number ported to my cell phone and use Skype as backup. I have cell calls forwarded to Skype number when cell phone is off (I always turn off cell phone at home) and save on cell phone minutes.

[davlat]

Hi msnln .. I am thinking about the issue that you need to turn on the computer always to use skype... How about electricity cost...? For example, for PC it might use about about 100W average... so 1 year ... 0.1kWh * 24 *365 * 7 cents/kWh = $61.32
I hope it could be much lowered by using laptop. But I think it is worth if you use desktop with CRT, more than 1 hard drive, powerful processor/graphic card or large amount of memory.... Convenience is extra. WiFi skype is about the same price and you may able to use it in most hot spot...

[poundwise]

You do not have to have your computer on to use Skype. You can purchase a special cordless VOIP phone Skype offers at least two models, plus a WiFi handset as well) and use Skype without a PC.

[Dave Rowtree]

Skype is a great resource, has saved lots of money on international calls if you have reason to make any.