For each electronic gain we add to our lives, something is lost too. Compact discs seem to have lost the warmth of vinyl records, home theaters don’t provide the communal feel of a movie theater crowd and although e-mail have made lives easier, they just don’t compare to a handwritten, caring letter ending with the words, "check enclosed."
So, get ready, because the latest Internet-driven shift is targeting ordinary telephone service.
This development called voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP), which uses the Internet’s wiring as opposed to the phone systems, provides you with a small black box that is placed between your existing telephone and your broadband modem (commonly referred to as your cable modem or D.S.L. box).
After you’re signed up, you could make unlimited local, regional and long-distance calls anywhere in the United States for a fixed rate of $20 to $40 a month, plus the cost of your broadband Internet service. This voice-over-Internet service is exempt from F.C.C. line charges, state 911 surcharges, number-portability service charges and other extra charges. The rates aren’t subject to inflation and overseas calls cost about three cents a minute.
VoIP is different from the nerd-favored and widely used PC-to-PC Internet calls, because you dial and talk using a conventional phone and your computer doesn’t need to be turned on.
The Internet phone service hype began last year after a startup called Vonage offered a $35-a-month calling plan, which was soon followed by similar unfamiliar phone services such as VoicePulse, Packet 8, Broadvox and VoiceGlo. Well-known names like AT&T introduced their Internet-based service, CallVantage and Cablevision, the cable TV company, started offering their own service called Optimum Voice.
Most of these service plans include exceptional features such as:
Twenty to $40 may not mean an earth-shattering discount from your existing phone bills, however even $20 a month is a decent savings. The voice mail feature allows you to listen to your voice mail by dialing *123 on your phone, by visiting a Web page or by letting your new Internet phone company send you sound attachments by e-mail. This allows VoIP users to save important messages for as long as they want and be able to pick up messages from anywhere in the world.
New York Times April 8, 2004
The New York Times has validated what many of us who have been using the Internet to make our phone calls already know. It works just fine with more features and for up to 50 percent less than the traditional phone systems.
The technology is called Voice over IP (VoIP) and the government does not charge you taxes on it. So, your phone bill will be free from:
In a past newsletter, I posted an article on my experience with Internet phone systems. I have been using the Vonage service at home since the beginning of the year and am very pleased with it.
However, a phone service that costs $20 to $40 a month that offers all of those features sounds like a service worth trying.
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