What is a cheap alternative phone company? I want to lose BellSouth. DPI seems more expensive. Anything else?

Answer 1

A broadband phone (VoIP) would be a good choice with their aggressive unlimited calling plans. Packet8 would be my recommendation here....lots of industry awards for their service. But....you'll need high speed internet on your PC to connect the adapter through. Stay away from Vonage. Bad customer service and bleeding money. Plus they just lost a patent infringement court case.

Using a cell phone as an alternative could be a smart choice IF you thoroughly research the available plans and don't get carried away with texting, ineternet browsing, or calling in "peak" times. I tend to recommend Cingular here. Forget Verizon.

If you want to stick with a traditional land line phone (the term used is POTS....plain old telephone service)....this best rate calculator will search and compare around 20 or so providers available by location.

http://longdist.net/?mscprez

Hope that helps some.

God Bless,
Michael Lemm
FreedomFire Communications
"Helping YOUR Business....DO Business"
http://DS3-Bandwidth.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/freedomfirecom

Answer 2

You can always do the VOIP, but in my opinion its not ready for residetial use. To many problems have been addressed.

Here some examples

If you loose you Internet connection, you phone line is going to be dead to.

If you loose power and don't own a UPS (Uniterupted Power Suppy) or a genrator backup for you house, well then your out of luck again you phones are dead.

Reliabilty is cut down from tradition phone company 98% + compared to VOIP which is around 90%.

No matter what people tell you the 911 service isn't the same as the 911 service provided by traditional phone companies. (now this is being worked on, but isn't as reliable in my opinion)

VOIP is a good alternative for businesses.

Answer 3

Hmm, how about your cellphone? If you don't have a need for a landline, like for a home security system or a satellite TV receiver (e.g., DirecTV, Dish Network), just make and receive all your calls on your cell. Get the right-sized minutes package and do your calling during the unlimited minutes periods, and you can save money in monthly maintenance fees.

Answer 4

MCI's Neighborhood Unlimited plan.

$50 a month includes unlimited local, local toll and long distance calls, voice mail, Caller ID, Call Waiting, Speed Dial, Call Waiting Caller ID, and some other things.

Also, you get a free month for signing up and once a year after that.

Customer Service is outsourced to the Philippines, so anytime you call them, they give you a credit to your account. I called them in October because my bill was too low (that's how much I like them) and they gave me so many credits that my final bill ended up being $7!

If you don't need an unlimited plan, they also have 500 and 200 minutes.

Answer 5

I actually use vonage, and dropped my phone company phone down to the bare essential! This way if I lose power I still have a phone to use and I'm still saving over$40 bucks a month!

Answer 6

I USE EMBARQ. WE GOT A LAND LINE MAINLY FOR THE INTERNET, SO WE WANTED THE CHEAPEST, BUT STILL WITH GOOD BASIC OPTIONS BC THE CELL SERVICE OUT HERE SUCKS. THEIR BASIC PLAN IS--

ANONYMOUS CALL REJECTION
CALL FORWARDING
CALL WAITING ID
CALLER ID WITH NAME
ENHANCED CALL WAITING
3 WAY CALLING

WE ADDED VOICE MAIL, AND BC BOTH OF US HAVE FAMILY IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE STATE AND OTHER STATES, WE ALSO ADDED UNLIMITED LONG DISTANCE FOR 15.00 A MONTH. THEY ARE ALSO MY INTERNET PROVIDER. (DSL) THEIR RESPONSE TO ANY PROBLEM I'VE HAD HAS ALWAYS BEEN QUICK, AND WHEN YOU INSTALL THE CD, YOU HAVE A "VIRTUAL ASSISTANT" THAT YOU CAN ACCESS 24/7 TO CHAT LIVE WITH AN EMBARQ TECH ABOUT YOUR PROBLEM. (THE ICON IS IN YOUR TOOLBAR) I LOVE IT. THERE ARE OTHER OPTIONS AVAILIABLE AS WELL. YOU CAN VISIT THEIR WEBSITE AT EMBARQ.COM.