VOIP-The Wave of the Future

Traditional household phone lines are becoming obsolete. Soon they will be a thing of the past like records and VCRs. Nowadays almost everyone has a cell phone. They’re small and portable, and so convenient to use on the road or while out and about. But most people still like that warm fuzzy feeling of having a home phone too. But more and more people are switching their old, antiquated land lines to new and improved VOIPs. VOIP stands for Voice Over the Internet Protocol. It hooks directly into your computer and utilizes the internet, much like an email. It’s easier to use, and it’s much cheaper than a standard phone line. Lets compare our options, shall we?

If you still wanted to be old-fashioned and use a local phone plan, it would cost $29.95 for unlimited local calling. But if you want long distance, that’s an extra 5¢ per minute. That doesn’t seem like a whole lot, but think about that…if you call Mom and talk to her for an hour, that’s $3. Do that once a week, you’re up to $12/month. Multiply that by 12 months, and you got yourself a bill for $144 for the whole year. And that’s not even counting all the other long distance calls you’ll make during that time.

Or you could choose the unlimited calling plan. You have unlimited calls (both local and long distance). But they charge upwards of $60/month. And if you want voicemail with that, it’s another $4/month. And don’t forget the $75 dollar installation fee when you first set up your line.

On the other hand, if you go through a VOIP such as Vonage, you get free installation (you can simply hook it up to your computer yourself). Once you plug it in, it works just like a regular phone line. Since it’s all done online, it is much, much cheaper because it is easier for the company to maintain. You can get unlimited local and long distance calling for $24.99/month. And it comes standard with free features such as voicemail, caller ID, click-to call, and call waiting…just to name a few.

Here are also some other cool features you can opt for. You can take your number with you wherever you go. If you’re away on business for the week, just bring the small, easily-portable connector with you, plug it into your laptop at the hotel, and you can still receive all your incoming calls.

You can also add another phone number to your account. Say for instance, you live in Raleigh and want a NC based phone number, but you have family up in the Boston area. You can add a Boston number to your account which will tie into your existing phone line, and your family will not be charged for a long distance call. This feature costs a little extra, but it will save your family a lot of money and keep you from getting too homesick.

When you step back and look at all the pros and cons of traditional phone lines vs. VOIPs, there really is no comparison at all. As long as you have a computer with high-speed internet access (which is becoming more and more common in our ever-increasingly high-tech society), then the obvious choice is to go with Vonage or some other VOIP company. The phone companies recognize this growing trend and are now starting to offer the same service. So if you have been a loyal AT&T customer for a number of years there is no need to break that relationship you have with them. Simply call them up and ask about their VOIP options. You can’t lose.