July 7, 2011

Should We Use VoIP to Save Money on Phone Service?

Here is something I wrote for Parentables about how I decided on the kind of phone service to hook up in our new house.

Should we use VoIP to save money on phone service? That was a question I was asking myself when I had the chance to start all over with our telecom choices. We’re moving to a new state, and VoIP (Voice-over-Internet Protocol) services had just come out on top of a Consumer Reports survey.

But how does VoIP work? Is the sound quality really that good? How much money would I save?

I hope you’ll read on at Parentables, where I blog twice a week.

Photo credit: Johan Larsson/Creative Commons 2.0

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6 comments

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  Vito April 27, 2015, 2:38 am

  Hey Amy, I know i am late to comment here but i just wanted to say that by using VoIP you can reduce your phone bills by 75%. I hope you will agree with me here if you are already using voip services?

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  John March 15, 2013, 1:37 am

  With the help of VoIP, making phone call service is easier and faster. It is an affordable way to reach to friends and family outside.

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  Diana July 7, 2011, 7:47 pm

  I use Skype and have the unlimited international plan. I only pay once yearly and I can make unlimited phone calls to my mother in Germany. Quality can be bad at times, but on the plus side Skype works on my smart phone so I can actually even make international calls on my mobile without racking up extra charges.

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    Amy July 11, 2011, 4:17 am

    Hi Diana,

    So great to know that you can use Skype on your smart phone. That is a huge plus, since many people probably don’t want to have to keep their computers on.

    Thank you for telling us about your experience!
    Amy

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  M.T. July 7, 2011, 7:36 am

  We’ve been using Vonage for about 7 years, through stints in four different countries and many months with no fixed address in between.  It’s been great for us to just carry a little box and plug in our old familiar number no matter where we are.  We would happily pay extra for that convenience, but it’s also saved us a ton of money as we call toll free to friends and family (or even poison control!) no matter where we are.

  We are huge Internet users (and have never had TV cable service), so we would have the expensive Internet service anyway so we don’t consider it part of the cost of Vonage.  We get a discount by paying for a full year at once, too.  We do also have cellphones, but no landline.

  I can see how the calculation would work out differently for different people, but for us it’s been great.

  (sorry, I couldn’t get my phone to work with the comment system at parentables!)

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    Amy July 11, 2011, 4:16 am

    Wow, M.T.! This is an amazing service for people like you who move around a lot, even internationally. I love that you can call internationally toll free. Makes me doubt my decision. I appreciate your input! (Sorry about the Parentables comment system. I’ll let them know.)

    Thanks for telling us about your experience,
    Amy