VoIP Home Phone Service
Selecting the Best and Cheapest VoIP Provider

There is never going to be one best VoIP home phone service that is ideal or even suitable for everyone. We've all got unique requirements and every voice over IP provider targets a specific niche. The good news is that while there is no such thing as a completely free home phone service you are almost certainly going to save money no matter which online phone service you decide on.

The Best Internet Phone Service 4U

Ooma Telo

Most consumers would rather not tangle with VoIP technology. Their preference is for a plug'n-play VoIP broadband service that anyone can set up. The Vonage phone service was one of the first to target this market and others subsequently copied the formula. The race was on to offer the cheapest VoIP service.

Free VoIP Phone Service

But how can a cheap home phone service compete with alternatives that are free? For a start they are never completely free. Skype offers free Skype-to-Skype calls, but calls to landlines and mobiles are chargeable.

Magic Jack offers an almost completely free Internet telephone service. If voice quality is not a critical consideration and having a computer powered up 24/7 not a show stopper, then Magicjack maybe the right VoIP home service for you.

For our money the best free VoIP phone service is Ooma. No computer required and brilliant voice quality, however there is an entry fee. Consumers must buy an Ooma phone, but thereafter there are no more phone bills. If you have an existing cordless phone - no problem. Just plug it into the unit and continue using as before.

Siemens IP Phones

VoIP Cordless Phones

Every pre-configured VoIP home phone service involves some kind of lock-in. Whether it's a Skype cordless phone, Magicjack USB, Ooma phone or Vonage router - each is designed to be used with just one VoIP home phone service. That's clearly not a major problem for millions of consumers who are happy enough to get cheap or even free phone calls. There is however an alternative that doesn't require users to lock into just one online phone service.

Siemens Cordless Phones

There are hundreds of voice service providers bundling ATA's or analogue telephone adapters with their services. They enable regular landline phones to be used with a VoIP home phone service. Generally they are locked so that subscribers can't easily jump ship and use a competitive service.

Siemens identified an opportunity and came up with a range of cordless VoIP phones that use the SIP protocol. Users don't require ATA's. In fact they can mix and match providers without being being concerned about lock in's or lost investment in hardware. In our case we use four different providers. One of them is our main service provider and the other three offer services including DID's or virtual online phone numbers. The DID's enable friends, family and business contacts around the world to call us for the cost of a local phone call.

Summary

SIP phones are rapidly growing in popularity as home phones. They are the key to having the widest possible choice in selecting a home phone service provider.

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