Summary
More than a million people are using the Internet as their phone company using voice over IP (VoIP) technologies that let broadband subscribers use part of their bandwidth to carry phone signals. Consumer Reports recently tested a number of services, including AT&T, Time Warner Cable, Verizon, and Vonage, finding that call quality was good overall.
Original source:
http://www.ksat.com/money/4150341/detail.html
Details
Internet phone service is growing in popularity, according to 12 On Your Side's Marilyn Moritz.
Moritz reported that about one million people are using the Internet phone service to connect with friends and family.
The technology is called Voice Over Internet Protocol, or VOIP, for short.
Internet phone service customers Joan and Andy Murphy, have their telephones connected to an adapter that sends calls over a high-speed connection.
They have a cable connection, but Internet phone customers can also use DSL.
Consumer Reports tested Internet phone service from five leading providers, including AT&T, Time Warner Cable, Verizon and Vonage.
"For the most part, quality was very good, although some of our panelists reported an echoy sound on some of their calls," said Consumer Reports' Mike Gikas.
In some cases, incoming calls didn't get through.
Some panelists also said they found it difficult to install the phone service by themselves.
Overall, Consumer Reports found cable connections seemed to have fewer problems than DSL connections, but found that neither type works in a power outage.
The magazine also found that dialing 911 can be a problem.
To solve that problem, Andy Murphy kept his regular line as a backup.
Even with the cost of the backup, Murphy said he has cut his phone bill by one-third since he switched to Internet phone service.
Internet phone service can be affordable, costing $25 to $40 a month for unlimited calling anywhere in the United States.
Consumer Reports said if you spend more than $60 a month on local and long distance calling, you could save money using an Internet phone service, even if you keep a backup line.
About the author: Mike Adams is a natural health researcher, author and award-winning journalist with a passion for sharing empowering information to help improve personal and planetary health He is a prolific writer and has published thousands of articles, interviews, reports and consumer guides, and he is well known as the creator of popular downloadable preparedness programs on financial collapse, emergency food storage, wilderness survival and home defense skills. Adams is an honest, independent journalist and accepts no money or commissions on the third-party products he writes about or the companies he promotes. In mid 2010, Adams produced TV.NaturalNews.com, a natural health video sharing website offering user-generated videos on nutrition, green living, fitness and more. He's also the founder of a well known HTML email software company whose 'Email Marketing Director' software currently runs the NaturalNews subscription database. Adams also serves as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a non-profit consumer protection group, and enjoys outdoor activities, nature photography, Pilates and martial arts training. He's also author a large number of health books offered by Truth Publishing and is the creator of numerous reference website including NaturalPedia.com and the free downloadable Honest Food Guide. His websites also include the free reference sites HerbReference.com and HealingFoodReference.com. Adams believes in free speech, free access to nutritional supplements and the innate healing ability of the human body. Known as the 'Health Ranger,' Adams' personal health statistics and mission statements are located at www.HealthRanger.org
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Monday, February 07, 2005
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