Do Digital Cable Phone Services Offer 911 Calling?

Be safe, be sure that the provider you choose provides 911 dialing in YOUR area. Read all disclosures carefully, and make sure the 911 emergency center your calls go to is the right one. Although the lack of 911 services plagued the early VoIP based offerings, today's digital cable telephone services ALL offer 911 dialing. Many also offer E-911 dialing, which is enhanced 911 used by the cellular services. This service helps save lives as your exact location is sent to the emergency personnel contacted along with your call. Your name is also automatically identified.

Most of the VoIP non-cable company offerings also provide 911 calling, but do have some areas in which it can't be offered. All companies are required by law to disclose their 911 coverage and offerings, be sure to review the disclosures provided by your chosen company carefully. You will be required to acknowledge your carrier's 911 notification, which will be mailed or electronically delivered to you.

Comparing Local Home Phone Services

The best way to make sure you get the right local phone service for your needs is to shop around.

A comparison search engine is a great place to start and will allow you to directly compare up to three phone services at a time. If you run it multiple times with different services and keep printouts of each, you can then go through each one side by side and see how they all stack up.

Be sure to take a look at all the "service" charges at the bottom of the page that are listed instead of just the published rate. That way you will be sure to have all the facts when making your decision.

Take a look also at local-only services versus local and long distance packages. Often, the combined savings results in a better overall deal.

Be sure to review your current usage, if you are away from home a lot and just don't use your phone, a measured rate service with a very low monthly fee may be the best option.

Last but not least, take a look at the features that you currently use against those offered. Features, such as caller ID and call waiting with caller ID, can be significant time savers.

Unlimited Long Distance Phone Service Options

If you make a lot of long distance calls, an unlimited plan provides the most secure option for you.  There are no nasty surprises when your phone bill comes every month, and the savings over measured rates can be significant. 

The lowest cost option outside of PC-phone dialing is choosing one of the many VoIP providers who offer unlimited nationwide calling for a low flat rate. Vonage, AT&T Callvantage, Verizon BroadWing, SunRocket, MyPhoneCall.com and Packet8 all offer unlimited plans with varying prices.

If unwavering call quality is important to you, the next best choice is a Digital VoIP carrier that offers service through a managed broadband network. These services often include a full-features package and can be bundled with cable or Internet services for more savings. Carrier choices here include Comcast, RCN and Time Warner Cable. Most services run between $30 and  $45 per month in this category.

If you just don't trust VoIP in any form, you will be happy to learn that traditional services have responded to competition from VoIP and digital services by cutting their rates and offering competitive long distance packages as well.  Traditional services are still a bit higher, but have come down significantly over the past several years.  AT&T and Verizon are two carriers that offer traditional service for unlimited nationwide calling at competitive rates.

What is Digital Phone Service?

Instead of using an analog phone signal over traditional telephone wires, digital phone services break down voice information into "packets", and send them over data lines to allow voice and data to travel on the same pipe. Analog phone service is also referred to as "circuit-switched" telephone or the PSTN (public switched telephone network).

Known as "Voice-over-Internet-Protocol" or VoIP, digital phone service costs are greatly reduced as voice and data can share the same lines. Features are also carried along with the phone signal, greatly reducing the costs to the carriers which are passed along to you. VoIP services offered over the public Internet are
also offered at much lower rates, as there are no costs associated with the maintenance of a private network. The trade-off is cost vs. reliable phone call quality. 

Voicemail Through Your Phone Provider or Answering Machine?

Your old answering machine may be a relic, but you have lived with it for so long that it is hard to part with. Yet, your new phone service provider offers voicemail as part of your new service. Should you set it up or stay with your tried and true old friend?

Phone provider voicemails of today are highly sophisticated. You can dial in from anywhere and check messages and some services even offer email notification, or emails that actually contain the audio message itself. 

This notification comes in handy if you are used to looking at a flashing red light and don't check messages unless you see it.

Most older answering machines use a tape to record calls and these can get old and quite unreliable.  The newer ones are still easy to bump accidentally, erasing new messages that may have been important. 

The only drawback to some phone provider voicemails is that there can be a lag between the time the call was left and your ability to retrieve it from their servers. 

In most cases, the convenience and benefits of service provider voicemail outweigh the use of the plain old answering machine.

Understanding Your Home Phone Bill

Phone bills, whether received online or in paper form, usually summarize their charges in the following manner, with some variations from phone company to phone company:

1) At the top there is a summary of charges, showing previous balances, payment received and current balance. 

2) Next is a list of the products and services you currently use.

3) If you subscribe to both local and long distance services from the same carrier, the next section is a summary of your local services, starting with the features you have and their monthly cost. 

4) Other charges and credits are listed, including any premises work you may have had completed.

5) Taxes and surcharges are listed in a separate section. This is often the most confusing section in the entire bill but many phone companies include an explanation of these charges on their website.

6) Next comes a description of your long distance services and charges, if you use the same carrier.  If you use a separate carrier, this information will be supplied on a separate bill from that carrier.  If you do have service from your local carrier and have a package deal, in-package and out-of-package charges will be summarized here.

7) A section called Other Charges and Credits is usually next, which usually only contains your Universal Connectivity Charge, also called the FCC Universal Service Fund, Federal Universal Service Fee, Carrier Universal Service Charge or Local Service Subsidy.  This is a percentage charge that goes to the FCC that everyone has to pay. 

8) Last, but not least is a section that summarizes your federal and state taxes.

How to Lower Your Phone Bill

The most common question asked by homeowners today is "How do I lower my phone bill?"

The best way to make sure you are always paying the lowest rate is to shop around for services at least every two months. The telecommunications industry is constantly in a state of flux, so search around regularly to ensure you are getting the best deal.

Next, read the fine print in your phone bill.  Some services have ultra low rates, but charge you a "connection fee" for every call and that can add up. 

If you pay a monthly fee for a particular amount of minutes of long distance time, keep a timer by your phone and a log so you will know when you have exceeded your alloted minutes. Once you exceed this allotment, many carriers charge high rates for additional minutes. 

Another option that many are choosing is the use of a VoIP flat rate service for unlimited local and long distance. Be sure to check the call quality of these services, and make sure that you can live with them.

Other options include using Skype as a supplementary service or choosing a service, such as AT&T, that allows free calling to other subscribers in their network. 

Verizon Home Phone Service Packages With Nationwide Long Distance

Most people associate Verizon with cellular services, but did you know they also offer residential phone service plans?

Verizon offers a choice of home phone plans - the lowest cost plan is the Verizon Freedom Value Plan which offers unlimited calling within the U.S. and Puerto Rico for a fixed monthly fee. This plan offers no additional features, and is designed for those who just don't use them.

The next level plan is the Verizon Freedom Essentials Plan and offers the same unlimited service with the addition of voice mail, caller ID, and call waiting for a fixed monthly fee, which is slightly higher. 

The Verizon Freedom plan adds Canada to the calling area, and three-way calling, plus speed dialing to the features package.

The most extensive plan is the Verizon Freedom Extra plan, which expands the features list up to ten additional features. Feature choices include call intercept, a feature that doesn't allow your phone to ring unless a caller records their name first, and call blocking. 

A regional-only plan with three calling features is also offered for a flat fee.

Be sure to check the Verizon rates for your specific location, as rates can vary from state to state.

Call Forwarding - When is it Necessary?

Call forwarding is a great feature for those who travel frequently or are in and out of their homes on the weekends and don't want to miss critical calls. 

Call forwarding allows you to enter a number to have your calls forwarded to if their is no answer or if your line is busy. Some services allow selective call forwarding, which means only certain calls are forwarded so you don't pick up your cell phone for every telemarketer that calls while you are on vacation. Some services also allow you to select if your calls are forwarded on busy, on no answer or automatically.

Call forwarding is a great way to stay in touch while living a busy lifestyle.

If you are at home most of the time or don't get many pressing calls on your home line, call forwarding may not be a feature that is useful for you. 

But if you are like most of us and need to stay in touch while out and about, it is invaluable.