[Asterisk-Users] Re: Land line vs. VoIP provider.

[Stephen R. Besch]

Robert Mann wrote:

> Residential Long Distance.
>  
> One of my biggest pushes towards a VoIP provider was cheap long 
> distance.  Now in the U.S. at least with SBC they now have a plan for 
> Unlimited Long Distance.  The price is 30.00 a month if you do not have 
> a couple of required features on the line already like Caller ID and a 
> feature like 3 Way or Call Waiting etc. in which case that lowers the 
> price to 20.00 a month.  Then to top that off I have two lines in my 
> house and by allowing them to consolidate my phone lines in to one bill 
> they were able to offer me the Unlimited Long Distance on both lines for 
> a single 20.00 a month charge.  Now this is in the U.S. and with SBC 
> that I know of but other companies will follow shortly if they have not 
> already.  So my question now becomes is there any reason to use a VoIP 
> provider for outgoing calls other then cheap long distance?  The other 
> thing I was liking with some of the VoIP providers was the ability to 
> have a incoming line from any major area so even if I live in CA I could 
> have a NY number which is cool if you have people that call you from 
> there or want some sort of phone spoofing (Not me of course :) ).
>  
> Other then these reasons can anyone see why you would want to use a VoIP 
> provider?  I may have just saved my self some time and money choosing to 
> use SBC now for my long distance at this one low rate.

1) International calls are still a lot cheaper.

2) Price Competition. The threat of VoIp is a major factor in inducing 
land carriers to keep costs reasonable.

3) Not really a good reason, but I would still cite quality. My 
experience with some of the cut-rate land carriers is that the quality 
ranges from acceptable to terrible, depending upon where the call 
originates.  While the same is true of some VoIP carriers, the continued 
migration to VoIP should drive improvements, and, it is really much 
easier to try a number of VoIP carriers to find the one with the best 
quality.

4) At least for the present, it is possible AND trivial to use multiple 
VoIP carriers to provide failover, at little or no additional cost. This 
is not, as far as I know, possible with land carriers, at least not for 
little or no cost.

5) A single VoIP connection supports multiple simultaneous outgoing 
calls from any number of sites for no extra charges. No land line 
company can even come close to this for the price.

6) When, and if, the quality/reliability improves sufficiently, a DID 
line in the area code of your choice, which provides 6 simultaneous call 
presentations for $7.99/month, will beat any land line hands down.

Summary: if you're the only caller, calling only to the US, then you 
might be crazy to not use a land line, especially given the deals 
currently available and the  911 issue (but see 
http://www.vonage.com/features_911.php). Even then, if you already have 
broadband in house (or at home), VoIP amy be an attractive alternative, 
if only for the control it gives you over your phone service.