Tell Your Phone Company to VoIP Off!

Get Smart and Switch to VoIP!

I don’t know about you, but I am sick and tired of being ripped off by my local phone company. For years, I have been held captive by this monopolizing regime with no hope of moving on to something better. It’s been a financial struggle that has caused me to seek counseling numerous times throughout the years. Why? Because my phone company charges me for everything: I want to add voicemail, they charge me. I call to change my number because I am getting crank calls, they charge me. I want to add call waiting, they charge me. I want to disconnect, they charge me. I’m surprised they don’t charge me when I call into a customer support.

So the question remains. Is there an affordable alternative to local phone service? The answer is yes, and it’s called VoIP, short for Voice over Internet Protocol. VoIP is an emerging technology that allows telephone calls to be transported over an existing Internet connection.

Here is how it works.

First of all, you absolutely have to have a high speed Internet connection, either DSL or Cable. Then you have to subscribe to a monthly service plan offered by a VoIP service provider. Most plans range from $20 and $30 per month, plus applicable taxes and fees.

Once you sign up for a plan, most VoIP service providers will send you a phone adapter. This is a little black box that resembles a modem. There are several connections in the back of the phone adapter. One is for your existing Internet connection, using an Ethernet cable. Another connection is for the power supply. There should also be a connection for a phone line. That’s right. Whatever phone you have at home (unless it’s a rotary phone) will work. Simply plug it into the phone adapter, wait a few seconds and you should have dial tone. Hopefully, whatever VoIP service provider you sign up with will also send installation instructions on how to set up your phone service. It’s really easy and takes about five minutes or less to get set up.

Why Choose VoIP?