Home Phone Service

Home phone service allows you to use a house phone to call from your home to other businesses or residences.

There are many options and many different types of home phone service providers:

• a traditional phone company just for home phone service
• your local cable company, which probably offers home phone service as an add-on to your current plan
• a residential voip service provider for your phone at home

But which type of phone service for home is best for you? The providers listed below are VoIP home phone service providers - the cutting edge and cheapest communications services on the market. We’ll explain the differences between the different types of home phone services below the table.

Just Home Phone Service

Home phone service through a standard, old-fashioned phone company is the most expensive option for households today. However, this kind of home phone service is the most reliable.

If you don’t bundle your home phone service with cable and Internet, you miss out on some savings on home phone service. Also, with traditional home phone service, you do not get free long distance calling.

You don’t save any money with standard home phone service. Basic home phone service with AT&T costs $23 per month and you only get unlimited local calling, caller ID and call waiting. You have to upgrade your plans to get extra features. If you want long distance calling, you can get it $40 a month (total; it’s a $17 add-on).

Home phone does has a distinct advantage: traditional home phone is a hardwired line, so you won’t lose service, even in a power outage.

Home phone bundling

Many cable companies now offer home phone, TV and Internet service.

Bundling your home phone service with cable and Internet usually gets you a discount on all three services, helping you save some money. Continuing with the AT&T example, bundling the basic home phone service, “faster” Internet, and DirecTV Choice Xtra package, you save $60 on a set of services that would regularly cost $131.99.

The downside to home phone bundling is long distance and international calls are very expensive (just like with a traditional phone line). You are also limited to your local cable and phone service providers. This means that prices don’t change very often and you have fewer options if you receive unsatisfactory service.

Finally, bundled home phone services usually increase in cost after a certain introductory period. And you have to get all three services, even if you don’t have a computer or a television.

VoIP service provider

Internet-based home phone service is the best house phone option if you want to save money, get the most features, and use cutting-edge technology.

There are many Internet home phone providers out there, which gives you the flexibility to choose a plan and a company that suits your needs. Depending on what option you choose, you can have a month-to-month home phone plan, an annual flat rate plan, or a plan that includes international calling. There are also some usage-based residential plans, but flat rate plans are more common.

Home phone service through VoIP operates with your existing Internet connection. And because the entire VoIP service works through the Internet, most providers offer unlimited local and long distance calling right from your home phone (literally, they do not have to make any long distance calls).

VoIP service providers can save you up to 80% off a standard home phone line; for example, VoIP provider ViaTalk offers rates starting at $16.95 a month for nationwide calling and 60 free minutes for international calling. After that, international calling rates are heavily discounted: to most countries, the per minute rate is often less than a nickel.

The downside to using VoIP for home phone service, of course, is that you do need a steady and reliable Internet connection. If your Internet connection dies for any reason, so does your home phone - unless you’re with one of the many providers (such as Phone Power) that forwards your calls to a predetermined number in the event of an outage.