Callers Find Savings With Internet Phones

ByABC News via logo
February 7, 2007, 8:38 AM

Feb. 7, 2007 — -- The number of people who turned in their regular phones for Internet phones more than doubled last year.

Nine percent of U.S. homes now have a Web phone.

That means the vast majority of Americans have not yet taken advantage of this new technology and the serious savings that come with it.

There are two ways to talk over the Internet: with a converter box that turns your regular home telephone into a Web phone, or by talking over the computer by using the built-in speaker or plugging in a headset.

New Yorker Ian Warren uses the Web phone company Vonage. For $14.99 a month, he gets 500 minutes to keep in touch with family and friends all over the world.

"I think it's about $600 a year that I'm saving by using Vonage over a landline phone," Warren said.

ABC News shopped around and found a traditional phone company charging $43 a month for unlimited local and long distance, plus typical extras like call waiting.

A similar service from a cable company was advertised at $85 and up because you have to purchase premium TV channels to get the phone service.

The leading company offering Internet calling charges $25 a month for unlimited calling. That's on top of whatever you pay for your high speed Internet connection.

But there's also computer calling, where you talk over your computer. If the person you're calling has the software on his or her computer too, even international calls are free. Or customers can pay $2.50 a month for unlimited calls from a computer to regular phones.

"I think it's a foregone conclusion among telecom companies that at some point all telephone calls are going to go over the Internet," said Stephan Beckert of Telegeography, a research group.

With Internet calling, customers can even sign up for what's called a virtual phone number. Friends and family living in other places can call on a local area code and pay local prices, even if they live across the country.

"I think across the board it's been a good thing for consumers," Beckert said.