Remember when Al Gore flicked the Internet on and we were all promised free phone service within 6 months? What happened to that? Politicians, I tell ya...when are we going to learn? Fortunately, there are people looking to make good on the promise to rob traditional landline customers form the Baby Bells by exploiting the Interent in order to offer free local and long distance phone service to deprived consumers across the country. Deprived...seriously. While the Baby Bells might argue against the term "deprived," UCAN begs to differ. The amount of competion in the local/long-distance marketplace is laughable. The Bells were broken up because of monopoly-type conditions, but mergers and acquisitions have steadily consolidated market power back into the hands of a select few. A new wave of Internet-exploiting phone companies could help change all that.
A recent story published on nytimes.com [1] gives a nice view from above of Internet-based companies offering free phone services. Some you've heard of, like Skype, others are still beta testing (Ooma). Here's a quick rundown:
Skype [2]: Skype enable users to make unlimited phone calls through their computers. Calls between Skype users are totally free, and the program is free to download. You will, however, have to pay for Internet access, as the service requires a broadband connection. And if you want to call other landline and cell phones, Skype offers a year of unlimited service for under $30. Compare that to the $600-$840 cost of a year of unlimited local and long-distance calls through Verizon and Skype is quite a deal. The nytimes.com story derides Skype because, "You and your conversation partner have to sit at your computers wearing headsets, like nerds." I don't know where David Pogue got his information, but USB phones are widely available, and Skype even sells a wireless phone on its website [3]. Skype is the leader of the pack, but there are other companies offering similar services like GizmoProject [4] and WebPhone [5].
Vonage [6]: One-time Wall Street darling, Vonage has struggled of late (although still nothing close to the collapse of VoIP wunderkind SunRocket [7]). Vonage, a VoIP service, allows customers to make domestic calls through their broadband Internet connection while using a regular phone. Plans are usually around $25/month for unlimited domestic calls (and it doesn't matter if are calling landline or cell phones). When VoIP first hit the scene, call quality and connection reliability were big issues, but both have been improved markedly in the past year or so. Some other VoIP companies to look at are: Lingo, Packet8, and VoicePulse.
iCall [8]: Like Skype, iCall is a free downloadable program that uses your Internet connection to place phone calls. Unlike Skype, iCall lets you make unlimited calls to landline and cellular phones in the US and Canada for free. The calls must still be routed through your computer, but as noted above, cheap USB phones are available, so it's not as if you have to sit at your computer and use a microphone.
Jajah [9]: Jajah is a little different than the Internet phone services mentioned above because it lets users talk on their regular phones (both landline or wireless). Jajah calls originate through the computer, so a web browser or mobile web access is required. Once the call has been placed online by typing in the numbers for both parties, Jajah will simultaneously ring your phone and the other party's phone. Only calls to other Jajah members are free, but anyone can sign-up for a free account and there aren't any monthly contracts or equipment fees.
T-Mobile HotSpot @Home [10]: In this new offering, T-Mobile provides customers with a hybrid cell phone that allows its users to talk for free in Wi-Fi hotspots. The phone is like a normal cell phone, but when it comes in range of a Wi-Fi hotspot the phone will transmit the signal through the Internet, instead of a cell tower, thereby saving you the minutes you would have used on your cell plan. The phone can take advantage of any Wi-Fi network without a webpage log in, and that includes 8,500 T-Mobile-sponsored HotSpots at various Starbucks, Borders, and other public places throughout the country. T-Mobile will send you a wireless Internet router, converting your home into a HotSpot. That means none of the calls made from your home will count against the minutes on your plan. Calls started in Wi-Fi mode will not use minutes, even if you later move out of the hot spot. The plan costs $10/month but you should be able to adjust the size of your plan to make the $10/month back and then some.
PhoneGnome [11]: PhoneGnome calls are free to other PhoneGnome users. They offer a number of different ways to place calls such as: calling through your computer (like Skype and iCall), initiating the call with the computer and ringing your phone and the other party's phone (like Jajah), and using a $100 VoIP box (like Vonage, but without the montly fees). PhoneGnome offers two types of pay plans that give you unlimited calling to non-PhoneGnome lanline and cell phone numbers. First is a $15/month traditional unlimited calling plan. The second option is a little more creative. For $6/month PhoneGnome will let you place unlimited calls to ten designated numbers, landline or cell phone.
Ooma [12]: What kind of phone service can $27 million in venture capital and The Guardian co-star Ashton Kutcher get you these days? Well for $600 ($400 until the end of the year) you can have unlimited calling from your landline phone...FOREVER. Unfortunately, there is no way to use your cell phone with the service...even for $600. And while you can talk on your traditional landline phone with Ooma, it still relies on your Internet connection for service, meaning you will need another way to dial 911 if the power goes out. Another huge drawback to Ooma is that you are paying $600 for unlimited DOMESTIC calling. At the time of writing, Ooma did not offer service to Canada or Mexico, let alone Europe, Asia or Africa. Last, Ooma is a new company and if it falters, that $600 box will be worth less than a stack of Dude Where's My Car? DVDs.