Voice-Over-IP Telephone Service: PriceGrabber.com Fall 2005 Buying Guide

Everyone seems to have broadband now, literally everyone. So, when you are spending $50 a month on that connection, how can you maximize its value? Voice-Over-IP (VOIP) telephone service can provide you with your primary or additional lines of service at incredible savings. This week, I’ll give a review on how to choose VOIP service as well as explore the phones that make it work even better. Click here to save hundreds or thousands yearly using VOIP service and more.

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An archived copy of the Buying Guide is here for your convenience:

With the proliferation of broadband in every home we visit, the next logical thing we’ll see (but never realize) is that Voice-Over-IP (VOIP) telephone service will become more and more the norm.

You see, the telephone network isn’t really more than a big computer network, just a little bit different. Unfortunately, their telephone service does not work digitally. It’s a completely analog connection without specific endpoint addressing. This network built the infrastructure for the communications network we have today - but it’s outdated and slow to keep up with current customer desires and demands.

The feature set most people choose for home phone service includes all the whiz-bang functions of caller id, call waiting, three way calling, eight number speed dialing and call return (*69). These features, aside from the advent of voice mail, have been the same basic offerings for over 20 years. Well, it’s the 21st century, and you deserve more.

Enter the era of Voice-over-IP. Anyone with a broadband connection can utilize network routers, phone adapters, or now even cordless phones - with the VOIP service provider’s software built right in. Just plug into your network or setup the router, and plug in a telephone. Generally, setup is quick and easy and done over the Internet in less than five minutes. And just as some of the ads say, “No Geek Needed!” It’s really plug and play.

Most of the telephone companies, long distance carriers and other communication related firms are providing VOIP. Prior to their launch, dedicated services that allowed you to make free phone calls from the Internet (remember your first time using DialPad?) and have since evolved into VOIP providers such as Net2Phone and DialPad.

Today’s VOIP services offer great account management and maximum flexibility. If you have several advanced features on your phone line, you understand the frustration involved with calling the telephone company (Telco) to make a simple change, say to your “Busy - Call Forwarding” feature. With VOIP, those types of calls are a thing of the past.

With VOIP, you basically have a complete online control panel that controls your service. You may choose to move your existing home telephone number to your new VOIP carrier so you don’t have to give up the number you’ve had for 20 years, or you can take advantage of this A??,?Eovirtual’ phone service and choose a number in another part of the country all together. When I first tried out VOIP, I picked a number in Las Vegas. Then, I called my mom and told her I was gambling away my retirement fund.

Since most VOIP plans include unlimited calling in the United States, outgoing calls aren’t costing you anything extra. This is one of the biggest cost savings associated with VOIP. So, if you live in Miami, and your mother lives in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, you can get a number that she can call you, as if you were local, from her house. You can often add up to four additional numbers too - including numbers in Canada and the UK.

The whole free long distance thing is the best part for me - and it will be for all of you talk-a-holics out there. So shop around for the best plans, some include free long distance not only within the United States, but also within Canada, Mexico and even Western Europe!

Other features are all of those you have on your home phone, including caller ID, call waiting, three way calling, speed dialing - but some of the more advanced features include “multi-ring” where several telephone numbers of your designation are rang at the same time when your VOIP phone number is called. Alternatively, you can have a sequence of numbers called. After so many rings, it will try the next number.

Voicemail - hate remembering the passcodes? Me too! VOIP generally sends your voicemail to your email and most all offer traditional voicemail, up to the stuttering dial tone, indicating you have new voicemail, and that blinking light on your phone will still work too! So using VOIP isn’t a challenge - it’s easier!

Many of the carriers gain entry via your networking hardware purchase. Routers - both wired and wireless - seem to nearly come standard with some VOIP offering already embedded in the device. The biggest problem is generally carriers have their own specific hardware. There are some true “open” solutions, such as SIP phones, for carriers who utilize the SIPP protocol. Otherwise, plan on a new piece of hardware for starters.

So, who are the VOIP providers?

Vonage is one of the largest US VOIP providers and generally their hardware is free after rebate, such as the Linksys PAP2 Phone Adapter or the Linksys Router. At authorized retailers, this hardware is Free after rebate. Vonage has multiple plans which start at $9.95 - for basic phone service (if you rarely use it), this is a great deal. If you do use it, you still get free long distance for up to 500 minutes monthly. I have used Vonage and would give them a call quality rating of 5. It actually seemed better than my home telephone service. Their unlimited calling plan includes calls to the US and Canada.

The former communications monolith AT&T brings us AT&T CallVantage. AT&Ts VOIP offering comes bundled in the Linksys RT41P2AT Broadband Router and starts at $95.45. After testing this service, I was plagued with an audible echo on every call and poor clarity. I was disappointed for a service from such a major brand.

Lingo is a company many of you may have never heard of. Lingo is a division of Primus, one of the largest communication companies in the world. Lingo’s service is straightforward and easy. For $19.99, you get not only your phone with all the features you can even imagine, but free long distance to the US, Canada and Western Europe. Wow! Friends in the UK will think that this is the best thing since sliced bread when they find you can now call them without incurring any additional charges! As often as you like! I’ve used Lingo and the call quality is just like any other standard telephone line. Lingo’s firmware can be found deep within the D-Link 1402S/L Broadband Router and may be tough to find, but for that price, keep checking PriceGrabber.com!

Finally, Packet 8 has been very aggressive in the marketing of their VOIP service. Not only does Packet 8 offer traditional VOIP service through routers and phone adapters, Packet 8 also offers video-call services. Yep, you got it - they have the Packet 8 Broadband VideoPhone available for as low as $99.99!

My VOIP pick:

I can’t tell you which of these to choose, as your personal calling patterns and habits are the major consideration. But if you barely use the phone and just need one, get the service with the lowest possible monthly rate; If you are a talkaholic - go for the unlimited long distance! Me, I’ll keep doing the rounds, trying every service so I can let you know how they are.

But after you have chosen the VOIP carrier that meets your needs, there is one other little thing that some people never think of - phones. When you purchase a VOIP adapter, you get a single jack to plug a phone into. One. So, what about the rest of the phones in your home?

Expandable Multi-Handset Telephones

Although there are several solutions to retrofit VOIP into your existing home wiring, I have a better solution. Choose a multi-handset capable cordless phone system. I’m sure you have seen them last time you were at the electronics department. If not, you can find them here at PriceGrabber.com.

Multi-handset phones are basically simplified into a single “base station” either in a cordless or traditional telephone set. Then, if you wish to add more phones, you simply add additional cordless extensions. Each of them connects directly to the base and interacts with the phone system and even other users. The best part is, they don’t require anything new to be installed. Just your phone jack and an outlet for the base and power outlets for each additional handset charging station you have.

You can get single and multi-line models, as well as ones that will connect to your PC via USB for synchronization of your phone book. Some of the most recent advanced models allow you to use your cellular phone via Bluetooth, for making long-distance calls from your home phone. Uniden’s recent release is truly a step forward in modern communications.

My picks for the best multi-handset phones are:

Uniden ELBT595 Blue-tooth enabled Cordless Phone System - I just got done talking about it right above - it’s incredible. You can have up to a four-way conference call (3 internal users and 1 outside caller) as well as call handset to handset, much link Nextel’s Push-to-Talk feature. 20 ring tones, hold, digital answering machine built in, Bluetooth headset capable - it’s and incredible system, from $229.00. You can add up to 9 more handsets to the system for a great small office or large home phone system.

Currently, the Uniden TRU8885-2 Digital Expandable Phone System is currently PriceGrabber’s most popular expandable phone system. This system, available from $119, only supports a single line, but include a base speakerphone and additional dialing pad. This package also includes an extra handset and charger so you are ready to go in at least two rooms right away! Great Value! For the even busier household, look for models with 2 or even more lines, maximizing the flexibility!

No matter what you choose, an expandable phone system will allow you to maximize VOIP usage in your home, saving you money too!

Also, an interesting unit, the Panasonic KX-FPG391 Plain Paper Fax/Copier with Expandable 5.8GHz Phone System is a fax machine base station - looks kind of freaky, but very cool!

Thanks for stopping by this week - hope you learned a lot more about Voice-Over-IP and Expandable Phone Systems. You never know what I’m going to come up with for next week. But remember; come back soon, to PriceGrabber.com