VoIP phone service providers offer many advantages to the
residential and small office/home office user. If you have a
high speed internet connection then choosing a VoIP phone
service might be right for you.

But before you run out & buy the 1st thing you see....arm
yourself with a little education 1st. The benefits must make
sense to you or you are just following the crowd.

Lower Monthly Fees

The price of a VoIP phone line is a fraction of the cost of a
traditional telephone line, the long distance calls are much
less expensive if they are made via a VoIP provider, and
applicable taxes are far lower with VoIP phone service than with
a traditional phone service. Some VoIP phone service providers
offer a phone line for around $9 U.S. dollars per month and will
charge you for calls you make at the rate of 1-3 cents per
minute depending on the provider. Most VoIP phone providers
offer a bundled service offering unlimited incoming calls and
unlimited long distance calls to anyone in the U.S. or Canada
for one small fee. VoIP unlimited calling plans currently start
at $19.95 per month. As with the traditional long distance
market trend...expect even this low cost to drop over time as
technology and competition matures.

Lower Taxes

So far to date governments have taken a hands off approach when
it comes to VoIP phone service providers. Since the calls are
being carried over the Internet, governments have not heavily
taxed VoIP phone services. Right now the only tax you can expect
to see on your VoIP phone service provider's bill is a Federal
Excise Tax, which is only 3% of the cost of the service. For
example, if you were to choose a $19.95 unlimited calling plan,
the Federal Excise tax would be 3% of $19.95, or 60 cents. Your
total bill would be $20.55. Compare that to your local telephone
bill (go ahead and take a close look) and you will see you are
spending quite a bit on taxes each month. Therefore, choosing a
VoIP provider could add up to significant savings for you and
your family.

Included Features

Most VoIP phone service providers offer features that are
included, while most traditional phone companies charge an extra
$20 to $30 per month for these. Most VoIP phone providers
include the following features in their low monthly fee: Free
voicemail, call forwarding, caller ID, call waiting, call
waiting ID, 3 way calling, speed dialing and much more.

Flexibility

When you choose a VoIP phone service provider, you will be sent
a converter to allow a regular phone to use the VoIP phone
service. Your phone number is programmed into the converter.
This means that you can take your phone converter and phone
number and use them wherever you travel in the world, just as
long as you have access to a high-speed Internet connection.
Because your telephone number is based in your converter (and
not your home/office), you have the option of choosing any area
code for your phone number. Some carriers will allow you to have
more than 1 phone number in different area codes for a small
additional fee (called a virtual phone number). For example, you
can have one number in your local area code and another phone
number with an area code from another city. By having a virtual
phone number in another city where you have a lot of friends and
family, you will be saving them money because they can call you
on a local number instead of paying for long distance charges to
contact you. Both phone numbers will ring your VoIP phone
wherever you have your converter and regular phone hooked up to
a high speed internet connection.

Draw Backs

Connectivity issues with 911 service is still a concern with
some providers. Although much progress is being made rapidly in
this area across the board......it's best to find a provider
already enabling E911 service.

Despite what urban legends you may "hear" about using a VoIP
phone with dial-up internet access....this is still a myth. If
you want a quality credible VoIP experience you will need to
have high speed internet access (DSL, cable, or satellite).

Your VoIP phone is portable & can be taken with you anywhere in
the world. However, it's not quite as unassuming & convenient as
many of the newer small cell phones. But then.....cell phone
calls home from Europe would be a lot more expensive too.

Hopefully the above info gives you a little knowledge to go on
if you are considering a VoIP phone. Just remember to shop &
compare and you'll do fine.

About the author:
Michael is the owner of FreedomFire Communications
http://ld.net/mscprez and http://DS3-Bandwidth.com
.......delivering choices to both residential and business
consumers for voice and data broadband services. Michael also
authors BroadBand Nation http://BroadBand-Nation.blogspot.com
where you're always welcome to to drop in and catch up on the
latest BroadBand news, tips, and ramblings for the masses.

Author : Michael Lemm
Site : www.goarticles.com

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