Lessons Learned in Finding a Solid Home VOIP Provider

Many people look at their home VOIP solution and hail it as one of the best inventions to come about for the consumer in recent years. And no wonder – the economics of VOIP for making and receiving phone calls are indisputable. Think about it, your traditional home phone like, without any extra services like voice mail or calling waiting or caller ID, probably runs about $25-$30 per month, just for dial tone. In some states, that may also include unlimited local calling, but in certain states like parts of California, New Jersey and Illinois as well as others, even your local calls are metered instead of truly unlimited.

By contrast, VOIP service gives you unlimited local calling, unlimited long distance calling in the continental United States, plus a host of other standard features such as caller ID, voicemail, calling waiting, and more. And for this VOIP service, all of it can be had for under $25 per month, and in one case we are aware of, under $17 per month. How can you beat that?

Critics are quick to point out that SunRocket, a popular VOIP provider, recently went belly-up, seemingly overnight. Naturally consumers don’t want to sign up with a company providing a service used as regularly as the telephone if that company is going to go under.

It is truly unfortunate that SunRocket went belly-up because that caused consumers to think twice about getting home VOIP service. There are no guarantees that any company in the world is going to remain solvent forever, not IBM, not General Motors, nobody. And this is particularly true with companies that use the latest technology.

But the bright side of what happened to SunRocket is good because it does cause consumers to take a longer look at companies that they are considering for home VOIP service, and consumers are looking at them with a more critical eye. This is good because when consumers look closer, they start to realize some of the pitfalls and downfalls of the service or the particular plan that looked so attractive when they were only looking at the price. There are far more to consider than just price, and there are still VOIP providers that offer excellent service for under $17 per month, as shown at our web site.

No matter what home VOIP provider you consider, however, be aware that none of them can good VOIP service if your high-speed Internet connection is not rock solid. You see, VOIP service uses your high-speed Internet connection to make and receive phone calls, and if your high-speed Internet service provider is not providing you with a fast, reliable, and rock solid connection, there is not a VOIP service on the planet that you are going to be happy with. This is not an issue with the VOIP provider, it is an issue with your high-speed Internet provider, and the VOIP provider has nothing they can do about the lousy connection you are getting.

If you have a crummy high-speed Internet connection that is not reliable, or if your only option for high-speed Internet is satellite, then you should not consider VOIP. It is almost a guarantee that it will not work well for you.

Home VOIP service can be a tremendous boon and cost savings for you, but make sure the required components like your high-speed Internet connection are rock solid before you start shopping for a VOIP provider.