VoIP service Providers residential

Exactly how much could you save by switching to a residential VoIP service? Consider the following: if you were currently using Comcast’s Local With More residential telephone service (which is actually digital system, but it still relies on old analog infrastructure), you would be spending $34.95/month for unlimited local calling plus $0.05/minute for long distance calls.

With a Freedom Unlimited residential VoIP plan with Phone Power, you would spend $5.99/month for unlimited local and long distance calls.

In addition, calls made between two phone numbers with the same VoIP provider are usually free. So if you can get your friends or family members to get a VoIP system with the same VoIP service provider, you can talk with them for free.

VoIP Contracts and Monthly Payments

Some residential service providers give you the option of signing a contract, but it’s usually not required. When you sign a contract with a telephone service provider, you are agreeing to pay for a certain term of service, usually a year. You are obligated to pay the full amount even if you aren’t satisfied with your service.

With a VoIP service provider, you can decide to pay monthly. This means that you can cancel service at any time if you are unhappy. However, if you are willing to prepay for a year, rates are usually much lower. For example, residential service with VoIPo costs $149 for a 2 year prepaid plan, which is equal to $6.21/month. Normally, residential VoIP services cost closer to $15 or $20 a month (without a contract).

VoIP Features

Residential VoIP plans generally come with a selection of extra features which may include

• 2 free phone lines
• Included adapters or other VoIP equipment
• Voicemail service
• Caller ID
• Call Waiting
• Call Forwarding
• 3 Way Calling
• Some free minutes
• Unlimited calling in the US

You will have to read through particular VoIP plans to see which features are automatically included in a VoIP service provider’s residential plan.

Many other telephone companies will try to charge you extra for these features. For example, if you were using Comcast’s Local With More plan that we mentioned above, you would have to pay an extra $3.95/month for an online voicemail service.

International VoIP Calling

If you have ever had to make an international call, then you know how expensive and complicated it can be to use a traditional telephone service for international calling. With most traditional telephone companies, you can either buy a specific international calling plan in addition to your residential calling plan, or you can pay by the minute for international calling.

Even with an international calling plan, calls can still be extremely expensive with a traditional telephone company because it is so hard to send analog calls over such a long distance. For example, a call to China with Verizon costs $2.49/minute if you don’t have an international calling plan.

But even if you do have Verizon’s International Long Distance Value Plan, which costs $5.00/month in addition to the cost of your residential phone service, you would still have to pay $0.13/minute.