stripes3
join:2002-10-22
Fairfax, VA
| reply to Primis1
Re: Over-rated.
Why all the hype and fuss over VOIP when nobody I know actually has it, wants it, or cares?
It is a lot cheaper then a normal landline. I pay $25/month (about $28 after taxes) for all the USA/Canada calls I care to make, a landline with unlimited local calling is like $48 after taxes. Not bad since I've moved to CA and my faimly/friends are in VA/MD. More importantly calls to the UK are $0.02/min which is a lot cheaper then $1.80 to $2.50 that was VZ's landline price when I dropped them to switch to VOIP, and it is better then Cingular's $0.25/min for calls to the UK. It is competitave with international calling card rates, and the quality is better (calling card rates were $0.01 to $0.10/min, with lots of little caviots like connection fees, minimum call durations, and weekly maintance charges).
A VOIP line is a little cheaper then a unlimited local landline. A VOIP gets a lot cheaper if you make a lot of long distace calls, and very very much cheaper if you make international calls.
It has a few other nifty features. Like if you travel internationally to places with high-speed internet connections it is like having international roaming for free (rather then $1/min). Voice mail notifications over email is nice. The "instant call log" is nice.
I don't see it as replacing a landline for everyone. Some people are happy to ditch landlines and just use cells and deal with the occasional large bill secure in the knolage that most months they pay less. Some people need a 100% reliable phone. Some people don't have high speed internet connections in their area. Some people don't have some other reason to get the high speed connection. Some people are worried about the E911 issues. All good points.
Me, I'm just a cheapskate  |
