Toshiba Phone System

What are the advantages of VOIP over a normal home telephone system?

I haven't got much of an idea what I'm looking at, I need to buy a new phone for the house but I've seen some which are compatible with VOIP but are expensive, is it worth the extra money. Any advice on the whole system would be great. I currently have a BT line and service and Sky TV with broadband package. Most phone usage will be evenings and weekend.

Public Comments

1. Most reputable VOIP services offer devices that you plug into your computer to get a phone port. That being said, all phones should be VOIP compatible. VOIP is generally (but not always) cheaper. Some services, such as Skype, simply have VOIP without phones (using your computer's mic). Haven't tried it, but it's a tempting price.
2. The main advantage is price, the main disadvantage is that phone service requires that your electricity is on.
3. I have no home phone as I now use a computer link over broadband..download skype and buy a set of headphones...I can phone any land-line in the world for virtually nothing and contact computer to computer for actually nothing..BT were screwing me for years with their line rental charges...I will never use any land-line phone again..
4. You don't need a VoIP compatible phone to use VoIP. You can use a regular telephone that plugs into a VoIP router. Most VoIP companies either charge very little for the router, or offer it free when you sign up for a plan. One of the disadvantages of having a regular telephone plugged into a VoIP router is that it will be the only phone you can use. The fix for this is to get an expandable VoIP phone base. This is a VoIP phone with the router built in, and makes it possible for you to have multiple handsets throughout your home just like with a landline phone. This is why a VoIP compatible phone can be a bit costly. There is a way to beat the high price of a VoIP compatible phone though. I highly recommend Packet8 since I use them for both my business phone, and residential. You have a choice to pay monthly, or yearly, and if you get an unlimited calling plan you can get a free VoIP compatible phone expandable up to 10 handsets, or an even nicer one for $19! The biggest advantage of VoIP phone over a traditional landline is cost. Hands down. For example with Packet8's Freedom Unlimited plan you can get unlimited local and long distance calling in the US,Canada, Puerto Rico, Guam, US Virgin Islands, France, Italy, Ireland, Spain and United Kingdom, plus unlimited in-network calling to other Packet8 subscribers worldwide for $24.99 a month There are other VoIP phone services providers with even cheaper calling plans, but in my opinion Packet8 is the best value overall.
5. VoIP is Voice over Internet Protocol so the advantage is the price and the disadvantage is the quality. Quality is okay most of the time but there will be times that the quality will be bad. Still the money you save is worth to get a voip service. Before you sign up with any voip provider make sure you know your calling habits. If you are not a heavy user then its totally useless to sign up with unlimited plans that will cost you half the cost if you sign up for a low plan. So search and compare plans. I personally use Onesuite voip for its pay as you go scheme suits my calling habits. As with most voip providers, Onesuite voip will work on ATA and VoIP phones.
6. Hi, I can recommend a voip video phone it costs £79.99 and has many extras including a digital photo frame,it runs through your router and the package cost is round about £ 10 per month on a contract and this gives you all your calls local,national and international,with no limit on the duration of your calls,it is fantastic and runs in conjunction with any broadband provider that you may have.
7. I would check out teleoptions.com Give them a call. They are a premier seller of VOIP telephony at awesome pricing with warranty. I got my VoIP phone through them and I had them integrate my system into my cell phone so I have the same features as my office phone on my cell phone. Great people and great service. I would definitely recomment them. You don't need to spend the extra money. Just tell them what you want to achieve and they create your solution. Hope this helps
8. I think the above user meant http://www.teleoptions.net I am familiar with them as well since they did my companies whole phone integration system. Its definitely better than what we use to have and they are great. I would take a look at http://www.teleoptions.net. They are located in South Florida but they fly out all of their techs to help you out. They are an Avaya Business Partner and can really create a great telephone system for business needs. Its really cool because I never pay long distance calling through my IP phone. I get to also transfer the same options on my IP phone to my cell phone so I can continue to make sales even when I’m travelling. I hope this helps a little.
9. this a useful link for you http://www.messiphone.com/voip.html