Featured VoIP Providers that Offer Residential VoIP Services
  • Vonage - Review Plans

Residential VoIP technology varies little from those services offered to businesses. The premise is that your landline telephone calls can be transmitted in real-time through your computer’s IP (Internet Protocol). You use the phone just as you normally would, by picking up the phone to answer when it rings and by using that phone to make local, long distance, and international calls.

VoIP is touted as the ultimate method to reduce personal phone costs, but the most dramatic impact on phone budgets is in the business sector. VoIP can be more effective cost-wise with expanded usage. But, don’t let this cost limitation prevent you from experimenting with this technology. You can use residential VoIP as an Internet chat device, you can share photos or data with friends as you talk, and it won’t tie up your personal telephone line while you use it.

What You’ll Need

Your choices in residential VoIP include the capacity to talk with anywhere from one to fifty individuals or more at a time. This ability to talk with many people can be a strong pull for larger families. Additionally, VoIP is a consideration for those who are online gaming fanatics, as it allows you to play video games and converse with other gamers in the process. If those are your requirements, then you may already have the broadband connection you need for the VoIP system to work.

No matter whether you intend to plan a family reunion or become a game master, low-cost devices for VoIP can include standalone boxes that provide VoIP functionality for your traditional phone service that works through a broadband modem (cable or DSL). These boxes serve as a bridge between your traditional phone system and the Internet.

But, the choices won’t be easy, as there are many residential VoIP service providers. And, they’ll all try to compete for your business with features that will go beyond your basic phone service functions. Data bridging and routing, emerging voice and signaling security features, and other ancillary functions can make your head spin if you’re not familiar with this technology.

With that said, be sure to ask about contracts, the hidden costs with some additional equipment and services, and learn whether the VoIP vendor is reliable and qualified to install your system.

Features to Look For

Look for price cuts so that you can tap into higher values and features that might have been out of reach previously. Look for call waiting, voicemail, caller ID, and other services that might be included free. Also check on area coverage, as some VoIP services are no better or worse than cell phones in this arena. Also ask to see alternative plans, and ask what it might cost to upgrade or to cancel the service.

Finally, just as with any business service, make sure your VoIP provider is reliable and that the service doesn’t charge (or overcharge) for support services.

Featured VoIP Providers that Offer Residential VoIP Services

Featured VoIP Providers

All VoIP Providers that Offer Residential VoIP Services