The next generation in local telephone service will most likely be dominated by the players you find below. Such names as: packet8, Voip.com, FonVantage & Opex Internet Voice. All that is required to take advantage of these valuable services is a broadband connection (such as DSL or Cable Internet) and a computer. You can even use your current phone. These companies will send you an adapter that you will plug your phone into and then you will plug your adapter into your router (in some cases, the adapter you receive will have a built in router). Don't let the technical jargon fool you, within 5 minutes of receiving your adapter you should be up and running!

Packet8 Freedom Broadband VoIP

One of our personal favorites! Packet8 builds their own hardware and their service resides upon the Level3 platform for stable and reliable calling. Of course, Packet8 has many more features than can be discussed here. See for yourself why we are such big fans!

• Freedom Unlimited for Home - $24.99 per month. Unlimited USA & Canadian calling with many top features, such as Voicemail, Caller ID, 3-Way, Call Waiting and more. With this plan you can add unlimited calling to Western Europe & Asia for a monthly fee.

• Freedom Unlimited with Videophone - $24.99 per month & buy a videophone for only $99 with NO rebate! Be seen as well as heard with this popular video phone service. Great for long distance relationships.

• Virtual Office for Small & Medium-sized business. Unlimited USA & Canada, pbx-style features and much more. Only $49.99 per line and get additional extensions for as low as $24.99 per line). Highly recommended!

Voip.com

Voip's direct mission is to provide the highest quality telephone system you've ever used! Voip provides you the freedom to revolutionize the way you make telephone calls. Voip.com provides everything you want, at a price you need.

• Unlimited Monthly - Get free unlimited calls to USA, Canada and Puerto Rico for only $19.95 per month. Great if you want unlimited calling, but you want to pay it month-by-month.

• Unlimited Yearly - This plan features the same unlimited calling and features as Unlimited Monthly, but you pre-pay for a year for additional savings! Only $199 per year (that is the equivelent of only $16.95 per month). Best if you want unlimited calling and want to save by paying for the whole year up-front.

• 200 Minute Plan - Only $9.95 and includes all of the features as the other 2 plans (above). It's a great plan if you don't rack up tons of minutes and prefer a more affordable plan.

• All plans include FREE adapter hardware and FREE Softphone.

FonVantage Quality VoIP

Discriminating consumers choose FonVantage because of its stability and reliability. No other provider backs their service with a 99.9% network uptime guarantee! FonVantage has built a nationwide NPLS backbone (carrier class network) from the ground up, which allows them control of the network your calls use, rather than you being at the whim of the Internet. FonVantage also has the most robust features list of any VoIP we've seen... check them out for yourself!

• Unlimited Standard - $24.95 for the first month, includes Unlimited USA & Canadian calling, with large feature set, $29.95 thereafter. Standard features include 3-way calling, call waiting, caller ID, do not disturb, call forwarding plus voicemail and other great extras. Use the web portal to manage your account features.

• Unlimited Premium - At only $34.95 for your first month, $39.95 thereafter, this is the complete broadband phone service for your busy home or home-based business. Loaded with features to give you extra functionality such as 3-way calling, caller ID, selective call acceptance and rejection, call forwarding and follow me, plus voicemail and lots more. Manage your account features with included CommPilot Call Manager™ PC dashboard and web portal. More features on FonVantage page than can be listed here.

Opex Internet Voice
Opex has long been a leader in communications, certainly not a newcomer, with services such as traditional long distance and prepaid cellular... now Opex brings you their Internet Voice product. There is a slightly higher start-up cost for this VoIP, but there are no agreements or early termination fees. Service is strictly month-to-month.

• Resdential Unlimited - $24.99 with all the features you would expect and unlimited USA & Canada calling.

• Residential Basic Plan - $14.99 with 200 minutes of long distance calling per month and features like Voicemail, Caller ID, Call Waiting, Caller ID Block, Call Transfer and 3-Way Calling.

• Home Business Unlimited Plan - $44.99 includes unlimited calling (USA & Canada) and all the popular features.

• Home Business Basic Plan - $34.99 with 750 long distance minutes per month and extra features like Contact Management and Call Logs.

May we suggest:

If you don't currently have broadband service, either through your cable company or local telephone provider, try our broadband search tool. By entering your phone number we can search over 40 different broadband providers in your area to give you the best possible deal. Try our broadband search engine today!