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How to Lower Your Monthly Tech Bills
Ditch your landline and get an Internet phone (VoIP)
Using a digital Internet phone service -- also known as VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) -- is a cheap way to cut your cell phone bill or eliminate the higher costs of a landline. All you need is a high-speed Internet connection, and you can choose from several services that usually offer tax-free flat-rates for unlimited long-distance calling.
Vonage, for example, offers caller ID, free long distance, voicemail, and a number of other features starting at $24.99 per month. Skype allows you to call or chat with other Skype users for free and offers affordable pre-paid rates for calls to actual phone numbers outside of Skype. It also allows for high-def video conferencing via your computer's Webcam. Skype is particularly affordable and useful for international calling, since all you need is a laptop, but can even be used in some mobile and home phones.
In addition, most cable companies will offer digital phone service and give you a discount if you order it along with cable TV and Internet services (around $100 for all three).
Making the switch is easy -- and the financial rewards are immediate.
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Comments
6
Subscribe to commentsDorisAug 25th 2009 7:36AM
I heard that a land line phone will stay on if the electricity goes out for some reason but the digital Internet phone service phone will not work if your electric goes out.
Is this correct??
TG00000Aug 25th 2009 9:01AM
Correct....When your PC is off the internet phone is off.
williehammondAug 25th 2009 12:33PM
Yes, but the land line has to be one of those old phones that goes directly into the phone line. Not one that also has to be plugged in, which is the kind most of us have today -- where we walk around with a remote phone that talks to the base.
It's a good idea to keep one of those old phones around. It saved me once.
micoqueenAug 25th 2009 12:36PM
I have both, now some people don't see the need for both, but I travel a lot and I have to relocate but my home number never ever change and I love that, I always get the Land line for local calls, in certain areas people still don't have unlimited long distance, and not everybody have cells phones, but my family and friends are always able to get in touch with me because my number never change. So no matter where I go at least they can remember my number, I even got the (voip) for my husband when he was in Iraq and we were able to talk like we would if we were in the states and it only cost me $24.99 plus tax and some fees which came to $31.00 dollars a month which was much cheaper then the cell phone at $2.49 a minute, 10 cent to send a text and 50 cent for him to receive it. There are pros and cons to both, but the way I see it I'm paying about the same as I was paying for one line years ago, now I have 2 lines with different numbers unlimited long distance, three-way calling, call-waiting, ID-calling, and voice-mail, And oh it really really helps when you have teengers, Whew!!! they don't use their cell phones as often , as long as they got unlimited text, my phone bill is good.
tonyr020673Feb 17th 2010 4:13PM
Anyone who currently has their phone service through their cable company uses a form of VOIP. So it's not like it's anything new. I heard an advertisement for a VOIP by a company called Ooma and was intreagued enough to buy one. Similar to Vonage, but whereas Vonage charges you monthly, Ooma doesn't. You buy the Ooma outright for $250 and the service is free forever. It has all the standard features like VM, and call waiting, free long distance...plus some cool features such as looking at your call log online. (this lists every incoming call) You can also block any number you want from this log. You can also check and set up VM online. Some other cool features are included such as a second line....I've had it for about a year now. It's paid for itself in four months. The sound quality isn't spectacular (comparable to Vonage), but it's good enough. I recommend it to anyone really wanting to save some $$ in the long run.
LindaFeb 17th 2010 10:49PM
I have T-mobile@home. Getting the dry loop in the early days of their @home was the worst, but ATT has figured it out now. It's $10 a month with all the bells and whistles, but when I moved to another state, there's no forwarding or recording on
your old number. It's just gone. The other problem is you must have a T-mobile cell with a minimum $39.99 monthly service, which I have but didn't need that many minutes. When the computer goes down, so does my home phone. And I don't have ATT cell, so I have to pay for minutes to reach their tech support - and outsourcing can make that a very long call. Tmobile has been pretty good about giving bonus minutes if I am going to go over due to tech problems. I'm considering
switching to something else in May when my 2 yr contract is up. The comments are helpful.