Local Phone Line - Second Line or Replacement Line:
PROS:
- Excellent long-distance rates (~1.1c/min to North America)
- Excellent quality line
- Per-month fees are much lower than "traditional landline" ($8-10 per month)
- You use a regular telephone in the normal manner (in conjunction with a "magic blackbox" and hi-speed internet)
- People you are calling are on regular telephones, and don't know you are using VOIP.
CONS:
- Setup of the "magic blackbox" (similar product to a home firewall router unit) is not trivial but only must be done once fortunately.
- Requires that you have high-speed internet access
- Account setup is semi-complex seeming, and per-minute billing for all calls can be somewhat confusing. (Again, really - only must be done once, then you are all set).
EXAMPLES AND COMMENTS:
Les.Net VOIP Provider
- You get a Canadian (or American, or .. elsewhere) "Big(*) City" phone number for $8.88 per month (possibly less, depends on your usage patterns) (includes Caller ID and VoiceMail)
- People can call you on this number, your phone will ring.
- All outbound calls are billed from 1.1c/min (all of north america is same rate)
- overseas long distance rates are fantastic (2c/min to china for example)
- quality is excellent
- The so-called "magic blackbox" can be bought on Ebay for ~$50 USD (a one-time setup fee, effectively)
- Multi-line BlackBox units are also available for slightly more, which easily allow 2 lines (Fax & Phone, or 2 phone lines - for example)
- note there are lots of other vendors (Linksys/Sipura among them) who produce / rebadge these "magic ATA BlackBoxes" - available via mail order, ebay, etc.
- Payment for service is typically via "top up of account" from Visa or other money source.
(*) service coverage / area codes available for phone numbers vary with service provider. You may have to shop around to get a number in an area code that interests you specifically.