How to Choose a VoIP Plan for Residential Internet Phone Service by Debbie Jacobsen

Once you've decided to switch from traditional land line phone service to money-saving internet phone service, you'll need to decide what type of VoIP plan to get. Every VoIP provider offers a choice of calling plans, depending on your needs. You'll need to decide between unlimited local and long distance service, or a limited amount of minutes per month. You may also need to consider international long distance calling, as well as whether or not you need the portability of a softphone with your residential VoIP service.

Here are some things to consider when shopping for a residential VoIP plan:

* Do You Want Unlimited Long Distance Calling?
All VoIP providers offer an unlimited plan, which includes an unrestricted amount of incoming and outgoing calls. An unlimited VoIP plan includes all the free long distance calls you want to make, usually within the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. This is the most popular type of residential VoIP plan and is a real money-saver, particularly if you make long distance calls. Unlimited internet phone service plans typically cost between $20 and $40 a month, depending on the provider.
* Do You Want to Maximize Cost Savings?
Most people switch to VoIP to save money. Depending on what you currently pay for phone service and long distance calls, you should see a savings of around $500 a year. For even greater savings (another $100 a year or so), you can choose a VoIP provider that offers an annual plan. This is actually "prepaid" internet phone service, and it usually costs around $199 a year (less than $17 a month) for unlimited local and long distance calling. The VoIP provider Sunrocket built their business around an annual plan, and now there are a few other VoIP companies offering an annual plan as well.
* Do You Need Cheap International Calling Rates?
If you plan to make international long distance calls, VoIP service is definitely the way to go. VoIP providers offer some of the lowest international rates available. Rates vary by VoIP provider though, depending on the country you are calling. All internet phone service providers publish their international long distance rates on their website, so compare rates to the countries you call in order to find the best deal.
* Do You Need a SoftPhone for Portability?
If you want to take your internet phone service with you when you travel, look for a VoIP plan that offers a free softphone. This is software that installs on your laptop, and allows you to make and receive calls through your VoIP service account. A softphone is a very convenient benefit for business travelers as well as vacationers and snowbirds. It allows you to use your VoIP plan from anywhere, as long as you have access to a broadband internet connection. Many companies charge extra for softphone service. Packet8 and Voip.com are two providers that include it for free.

Once you've determined what kind of VoIP service plan you want, you're ready to start looking for an internet phone service provider who can meet your needs. There are many good VoIP providers to choose from, but all offer slightly different plans, rates and features. Once you know what type of calling plan you want though, it's pretty easy to compare the plans offered by the various VoIP providers. Some good providers to consider are Voip.com, Packet8, AT&T and Sunrocket.

See my website for more information on internet phone service, including VoIP provider reviews. For the latest information on VoIP providers and current promotions, visit my blog Internet Phone Service - The Future is Here!
About the Author

Debbie is an information technology professional and author of the following websites about VoIP internet phone service:

http://www.long-distance-savings.com http://djvoip.blogspot.com