VoIP is AWESOME.

VoIP has been gaining popularity for quite some time in the US. I never really understood what the big deal was until I actually took the time to learn about all of the features.

When I first heard about VoIP, for some reason I was thinking it would never catch on because people would have to change their phone-usage habits. I thought you had to buy a special phone to use for it, that the connection would be choppy, and that it would just be not all that convenient to use.

I was wrong.

Recently I learned that you can actually use your regular phone, and it feels and sounds just like you were using your regular landline service. I learned that VoIP works through a small box that looks like a DSL modem. You actually just plug the VoIP box into your high-speed internet modem, plug your phone cord into the VoIP box, and you’re ready to go. Who knew? Then you get clear-as-bell phone calls (on the same phone you’ve been using), you get to keep all of the features your landline service had (3-way calling, caller ID, etc), and you get unlimited long distance… at a much cheaper price than a standard landline phone service! That’s extremely convenient and saves money too. You just can’t beat it!

On top of that, VoIP can do things that landline service just can’t do. For instance there’s a portability feature. See, your telephone number is programmed right into the VoIP box, so lets say you live in Pennsylvania and go on vacation to Texas… if you take your VoIP box with you, and you have access to high-speed internet, people can call you on your regular phone line, and you can also call them. This also means that if you actually pick up and MOVE to Texas, you can take your old phone number with you, and your friends from your previous area can still call you on your old number and they won’t be charged any long distance fees because they will be calling a local number!

You can also buy what are called “virtual numbers” at an extra monthly charge (which, with Lightyear Alliance, is only about $6). What that means is that say you live in New York and your mom lives in California. You can get a number that is local to her area, so that she can call you without long distance charges. That’s a really cool option!

Another great thing about VoIP, is that if you are using Cable high-speed internet, you don’t need to have a landline at all. You can just get VoIP for around $25 a month, and that will cover your local and long distance calls! If you have DSL, though, you still need to keep your landline phone service, as that is what your DSL service runs through.

So as you can see, VoIP has some really great advantages over the normal landline phones. Now that I know more about it, I can see everyone (who has access to high-speed internet) using VoIP in the future.

If VoIP sounds like something you’d be interested in, check out Lightyear Alliance’s XStream VoIP. It’s $24.99 a month and includes unlimited long distance calls to anywhere in the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico!