Vonage Broadband Phone Service

Vonage is a flat-rate phone service that uses your Internet broadband connection, a technology known as voice-over-Internet protocol, or VoIP. In a review of VoIP services, Wired Magazine ranked Vonage at the top. "Setup is quick and painless -- five minutes, tops -- and call quality is clear even while you're downloading video." Once you sign up, you plug your broadband router into a home network and use it with any standard phone. You receive a 10-digit phone number for incoming calls and also can use features such as caller ID, call waiting and voice mail. In select areas you can transfer your existing phone number. Unlimited calls to anywhere in the U.S. (including Puerto Rico) and Canada is $24.95 per month, or you can order up to 500 minutes for $17.99 per month. Small businesses can receive unlimited calls for $49.99 per month, or up to 1500 minutes for $39.99, or get your own toll-free number with 100 free minutes for $4.99 per month. Vonage also offers international calls starting at 3 cents per minute. An alternative service is Skype, which offers free calls via your computer to anyone else in the world who has the free Skype software, or about two cents a minute to make calls from your computer to regular phones.