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I know a lot of people who gave up their landline because they didn’t want to pay a monthly bill for a phone they were rarely using. Now, they solely rely on their cell phones. By contacting your internet service provider like Verizon or Megapath, you can increase your internet for minimal cost while improving the quality of your online calls; an added benefit to cutting your landline.
If you’re looking to save money by giving up your land line, consider Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service providers like Vonage, Skype and magicJack. To use these services, you must have access to a computer with Internet and contrary to popular belief, some allow you to make emergency 911 calls. Below is a price comparison of their services and a description of how they work.
Vonage
A phone, high speed Internet and Vonage adapter is needed to use this service. Before purchasing the equipment, log onto their site to test whether the speed of your Internet connection is ideal. I have DSL and my Internet did not pass their Internet speed test. To receive or make incoming calls, your computer doesn’t have to be on. You can make local and long distance calls, and make emergency calls. Some plans cover international calls. Vonage World includes calls to Italy, France, Spain, United Kingdom and Ireland. Vonage Pro includes calls to 60 countries including Mexico, China, Russia and more.
magicJack
The magicJack is a USB adapter you connect to your computer whenever you want to make calls. After plugging in the magicJack you’ll be able to make and receive calls only when your computer is on. Voice mail and call forwarding will work when your computer is off and your magicJack is plugged in. Voice mail will receive an incoming call if your computer is off and your magicJack is plugged. You can call 911 with magicJack, but you won’t be able to make a the call in case of a power outage.
Skype
To use Skype, you must download the free software to your computer and create an account. Like Vonage, Skype has several plans. For a full list of prices, visit their website. Below I’ve compared Skype’s most popular plans. I’ve used Skype for free before to make video calls and send instant messages. I’ve used it from my laptop and cell phone (the Skype iPhone app lets you check voicemail remotely). You cannot use Skype to make emergency calls.
Google Voice – We’ve got the skinny on how Google Voice works, too.
At $40 for the first year and $20 per year after that, the cheapest route is magicJack. This option precludes international calls, instant messaging, and video calls, however. Vonage has the highest cost, but does not involve computer downloads and you can make good use of your existing touch tone phone. Skype carries a moderate price, but you’ll be tethered to your computer for calls and will need to buy a headset if you don’t already have a compatible one.
Which plan suits you? These companies usually have specials so check their sites often for free trials.
Welcome to Bargain Babe! I’m Mara, and I’m so glad you’re here. I am an obsessive bargain hunter and penny pincher, and I am determined to live a full life without EVER paying full price.
I’m surprised you didn’t mention Ooma. After you get past the initial purchase of the equipment and number port (if you want to keep your existing number), they have a free for life service. I opt to have the paid service which is still cheaper than Vonage, but have considered going with the free service since the paid service features are becoming less and less important to me.
I’ve been using it for 2 years and it is just as good, if not better, than Vonage, which I also used for 1-2 years and also loved.
I have also noticed that on my landline phone bill they have a comment about a service called “LifeLine” where you can get landline service for about $7.00 a month if you have a certain income.
Also if you are under the poverty level you can get a free cell phone and service from another company. It is called SafeLink and all you do is go to the website and answer some questions and sign up.
I know that times are hard for some of the ones that are laid off right now, so you can go to the websites and look and see. I know Verizon and ATT both have the LifeLine services.
Google voice calls with Gmail completely free calls
@Lore What a great idea for a follow up post!
I have switched to StraightTalk mobile for two years and am quite satisfied with it. It is using Verizon network. The monthly $30 plan suits me. It gives me 1,000 minutes, 1,000 text messages and 30 mg web access. I used to pay for my landline for about the same price. And, for $45, you can get unlimited minutes, texts and web access. The only drawback is that you have to buy your phone and they don’t have too many good phones.
I hesitate to get rid of my landline, because when we have an earthquake, usually the cell phones are the first to go, but regular landlines still work!! It happened in the ’94 earthquake…
Totally agree, Michelle. All of these cheap options more than likely require electricity which you will probably not have in an emergency. Our friends have had vonage for years but the connection is horrible – worse than an AT&T cell phone in So Cal – and that’s BAD! I will keep my landline with a corded phone thank you very much (cordless phones won’t work without electricity either!).
I have had a very positive experience with both Vonage and Ooma, so I suppose any of those negative reports are not necessarily applicable in all areas of the country and all Internet providers.
Note that solutions like Magic Jack and Vonage and Ooma are going to be subject to the quality of your Internet connection…
I love Skype; we’re using it as our alternative. Definitely works to our advantage, especially since we have voicemail
Your explanation of magicJack is not quite correct. If your computer is OFF it doesn’t matter whether MJ is plugged into it or not; incoming calls will go to voice mail. In fact, MJ will even email you a wav file of the message your caller left.
We finally gave up our land line and the AT&T monthly bill of about $46. We installed MagicJack to our computer for $19 a year. We love it! You have to leave your computer on to keep it activated, but what the heck, we’re saving about $500 a year. The only reason we have the land line is for my 90 year old, hard of hearing mother who needs the cup earpiece of the old type of phone in order to hear. We totally recommend MagicJack!
Hello.
I have a question that perhaps you may know the answer to. I sure hope so 🙂
Recently, I had to go back with a land-line because of the “communication” with my home alarm system.
Can VoIP be used in a case, such as mine?
Or am I stuck with a land-line in order for my alarm company to “communicate” with me?
I have heard conflicting answers & was wondering if you or anyone else out there can help me.
Thank you so very much.
@ Michelle
Very true! I’ve been through 4 hurricanes in my life. After the electricity goes. that old faithful land-line was really a life saver.
At least we were able to be in contact with family & friends during our dis-pair.
think solar !
@davis What do you mean, think solar? I’ve never heard of a solar powered telephone.
I, too, had researched Magic Jack on my own a couple of years ago. One factor that dissuaded me is that we don’t keep any of our computers on 24/7. So, in order to call out, we first would have to rev up the computer if it was off. However, I was also told by a MJ rep that you can’t be farther than 6-feet away from a computer to use MJ.
Diane,
In addition to a landline (local calling plan only), I’ve used the Magic Jack for over 3 years. I prefer my headset but initially I used a cordless phone that I connected to the MJ dongle. And like any other cordless, I could walk around the house or outside for whatever the phone’s distance capability allowed. Also the MJ can transfer any calls to either your landline or cell when the computer is off. I like giving out my MJ number to vendors, etc. to keep my home/cell line off their databases. If you want to give up your land line, and use MJ exclusively, you will have to buy a “dry line” from your phone company. They used to be free but they found a way around that glitch. I think it’s about $10 a month. Hope this helps.
@fran: Very interesting info. I never thought of a cordless, nor did the rep mention it as well as some of the other abilities you cited. We’ve pretty much given up the idea of ditching our landline. I have frugally pared down its features without sacrifice to what we need and, therefore, also the monthly cost.
Diane,
The MJ has paid off for me since I gave up long distance on my landline and I’m careful about not using my landline for those pesky ZUM charges in Los Angeles. Zum charges here can apply to areas as close as 15 miles away. You’d think that distance would be local, but no. I’ve been seriously thinking of giving up the landline but haven’t quite got up the nerve to make the change.
@fran Says ~ Like you, I live in L.A. and have given up long distance on the landline (since our cell phones include that). I also decided to stop paying for being unlisted and last Nov. decided to go from unlimited service to measured as we don’t make that many “local” calls. However, AT&T managed to screw that order up and we just today got our first bill with the measured service. And guess what? AT&T apparently has already increased the cost of that service! I’ll have to call to find out what’s going on which, itself, is another pain!
I absolutely agree with you regarding those “pesky ZUM charges. When I spoke with AT&T reps about the cost of various distances, they didn’t even agree with the specific distances involved for local long distance, long distance, etc.
The changes I mentioned above that we’ve made with our landline service were easy to do nerve-wise. In fact, they were “no brainers.” However, again like you, I’m not yet ready to give up the landline completely. I would love for someone to provide a thorough list of the pros and cons of MJ, the alternate phone I am most interested in.
@fran ~ Today I confirmed my suspicion that AT&T DID raise its monthly measured rate service on January 1 by $3.50/mo.! That was about 10 minutes after I signed up for it. Of course, the call allowance amount did not go up proportionately, so that’s a double “ding.” I have pared down our landline service as much as I can without ditching it entirely. Before I did that, I would try MJ AND have the landline service simultaneously for a trial period until I knew, one way or the other, which one I preferred. One feature we refuse to give up is our archaic answering machine’s ability to monitor incoming calls. Is that doable with MJ, Fran? My guess is no. Also, I’m not clear on how MJ takes messages if the computer is off, but that’s a neat feature if it does. We live in a multi-level townhouse, and I’ve had doubts about using the phone everywhere as we can now, but I recall your mentioning MJ works with a cordless phone system. Can you provide further info on any/all of this? I wasn’t that impressed with MJ’s chat representative a couple of years ago. Thanks!
The MJ website has a Q&A link where you can view already asked and answered questions or you can ask your own questions. Yes, you can use your old answering machine. When I first started using MJ, I let any calls on my MJ line go to the MJ voicemail. The calls are an email with a audio message. Since then, I changed all MJ calls to go to my home answering machine. You also “might” be able to connect all your home phones through your existing wiring. But MJ doesn’t guarantee it will work. But in reality, lots of folks now buy cordess units with up to 4-5 plug-in units to scatter throughtout the house. If you plug in the home base unit into the MJ dongle, that should do the trick. One last note; you can sign up for a free month thru their website but you’ll land up paying for shipping charges. Radio Shack and a few others now sell MJ without the $7-8 shipping charge. Good luck.
@fran ~ I appreciate all your info. A main concern is being able to monitor calls as messages are coming in on the answer machine. We can’t do that with MJ unless the computer is on, so that’s a big strike against a change. I did go to the Website last night. My understanding with the free 30-day trial was there was no shipping fee unless you returned the unit. That is, I paid if I returned it, which is fair. My husband also reminded me that part of our AT&T bill was for Internet use, and I’d forgotten that. Looks like AT&T has a while longer.
BB, thank you for letting Fran and me have these discussions.
Diane, You could request a “dry loop” AKA “naked DSL” for your computer line from AT&T. My neighbor pays Verizon around $22.00 for a dry loop. It used to be free but the phone companies got around that. I think you’ll be able to monitor your calls as usual by installing your answering machine to the MJ dongle. I’m assuming it has a handset. If not, I’m not sure if it will work.
This is my 3rd attempt to post this comment. I’m being told I’m spam–well, that’s not a direct quote, but that’s the essence.
It turns out Fran was correct about the customer’s paying for S & H for MJ. Don’t know what I was thinking because that, of course, is typical.
Also, calls are free THE FIRST YEAR. What happens after that?
From the MJ Website:
“magicJack costs $39.95 plus shipping and handling.
One year of free local and long distance calling to the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, along with all the other great magicJack features are included with your initial purchase.
You can purchase an additional year of service for $19.95.” Does this include any calls?
@Diane I have no idea why your comment is being marked as spam because your comments are automatically approved. (Once you have one comment approved manually, your later comments are approved automatically.) I suspect that WordPress suspected you were a spammer because you had already left multiple comments on this post. Bizarre because the conversations that go on through comments are what makes this blog special!
Diane, Yes, that includes all calls for free to the areas listed. You can also purchase “credit” thru their website to call other countries. Once your year comes to an end, the website offers a 5-year deal for $69.00 (you can buy it anytime during your first year) which amounts to $14.00 A YEAR! That’s hard to beat. Buy it at RadioShack or another brick and mortar outlet to avoid the shipping charges.
@BB ~ The plot thickens: I wanted to make one editing change in my first attempt at that particular post, and that is when I got the first spam message.
Incidentally, following up something I wrote you a few weeks ago, the timestamp of my posts still is one hour later than actual time for me. I am writing this from work, and that is also the case here. It is currently 3:03 p.m. in the not-so-sunny SF Valley.