Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP)

Everyone has heard about people who make phone calls over the internet. It is called Voice Over Internet Protocol (voip). The White House now uses voip service.

Most people don't think it will work, or just won't work for them. Actually, it is very simple.

You need a high speed internet provider to get started. You buy or rent a dsl modem from them. The modem has the dsl phone line going into it, and an ethernet cable (the fat one) that goes to your computer. If you sign up with a company that provides voip, they send you a box that you connect to the dsl modem. Then connect the box into a wall jack, so that your home phones ring just like they always have.

The box the voip provider sends you, changes the digital signal that is the internet, into an analog signal that is your home phones.

My home phone has been on voip for over 3 years. I haven't had any more trouble with it than I did when I had AT&T and QWest. And most of those issues have been power outages, both before and after I changed over. Modern phones need electricity to work.

Over 3 years ago, I signed up with ACN. I cut my phone bill in half. Then in May, 2008, I signed up with 5linx. I cut my ACN bill by over $60 per month.

With 5linx, their monthly plan is $24.95 per month. This plan includes: call waiting, call forwarding, conferencing, voice mail, caller ID, and a whole host of other features (including being able to have my phone calls forwarded if the internet signal is down). I pay no long distance charges, ever, to over 14 countries. With taxes and federal charges, my total phone bill is less than $32 per month.

I've checked out other carriers, 5linx has the best deal. ACN charges long distance, unless you are calling ACN to ACN. Skype, and others like it, have all kinds of add-ons. You have to read the fine print. QWest advertises a $30 per month phone bill - but by the time you add caller ID, voice mail, etc. and all the taxes, my phone bill was over $65 per month, which didn't include any long distance charges. AT&T was my long distance provider, and that bill was another $60 per month.

Now you can see why I love 5linx. I went from paying over $120 per month for phone service to now paying under $32 per month.