Broadband Phone - An Easy Way to Lower Your Phone Bills

Yes, I am pushing the benefits of broadband phoning on these pages but I also have been a loyal customer to the Vonage program for several months now. Overall, I have been very impressed but there are definitely some pros and cons, especially if you live in a small rural town as I do.

As a person who has been struggling a little financially over the past four years since my divorce, one of my first priorities was to find a way to lower my monthly phone and internet bills. Getting rid of my cell phone was the first thing I did...it just wasn't used enough. And anytime I did try to use it for emergency on the road communication,there was no service in the area.

Then I took a look at my home telephone service and realized that I was paying a ton of money every month before I even placed a call. Plus, every add-on involved an extra fee. That's when I decided to try out broadband phone after seeing it advertised on the net. "Skeptical" is my middle name but the first month was a trial month so there was really nothing to lose.

After ordering everything online, the broadband phone setup package arrived by courier about three days later. That in itself was incredible. The setup was incredibly easy. Our two computers and the phone line plug into the supplied router which connects to our ADSL modem. It is up to you to figure out how to get the phone line to the desired location. Basically your phones and/or jacks connect to the router.

So what are the pros and cons.

Pros

• it is cheap - in Canada, around $20 per month, less in the States for the basic plan
  (500 minutes anywhere in Canada or the US)

• this is the ONLY fee you pay each month

• this fee includes every add on you could possibly imagine

• other features are included that are too numerous to mention here but are well worth looking at on their site

• voice mail is included in three forms - phone, email, and online

Cons

• area codes are not available for every location. If you live in an urban area,you are probably safe but if you are in a small rural town, friends may have to make a long distance call to speak to you!

• toll free numbers are not always available if you are calling from Canada.
  
• the quality is very good most of the time but once in awhile on long distance calls, you will experience a slight delay and/or it just doesn't work properly. It seems to depend on where you are calling. 99.9% of the time, the quality is 100%.

By far, I have found the pros way outnumber the cons for the price. I have been very satisfied with the quality and service and believe the traditional phone companies may be in trouble as the number of broadband phone companies increases unless they quickly move in this direction.

Is it the way to go for you?

The only way you can tell is to try it. There are lots of factors that will determine whether it will work great in your situation, especially if you live in a rural area. And you definitely need a high-speed connection, either ADSL or cable internet. If the speed falls below a certain level, the quality will suffer. But I would say to give it a whirl. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.