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Save Money with these Proven Phone Service Alternatives
by Mark Sullivan
Our top picks:
Computer calling: Skype
VOIP calling: Vonage
Calling cards: Pingo
Many Canadians are lowering their monthly phone bills. Are you one of them?
If you have a traditional phone service, you could be paying way to much for your domestic and long distance phone calls. Take the small amount of time necessary to do the research and you can save yourself hundreds of dollars per year.
Fortunately there are easy alternatives to your expensive landline phone. If you have an internet connection, it is possible to use that web connection to make voice calls. If you have a highspeed internet connection, there is absolutely no need for traditional phone line. Your high speed internet connection has the capability of providing you with data and voice communication without the expense of an additional phone line. Of course, there are other phone alternatives to save you money even if you don't have high speed internet. The only question is which phone alternative is right for you.
Using your Computer to Talk over the Internet
There are several different ways that you can talk over the internet. If you have a headset with a microphone, you can plug right into your soundcard's earphone and microphone ports and use a simple service like Skype
to have conversations over the internet with friends or family anywhere in the world. If you talk to other Skype members, the calls are free! If you need to call someone on a traditional phone, you can still speak to them over the internet for about the price of a local call. This is a great service for international callers. If you make a lot of calls to the states and don't mind looking like a call centre worker, this could be the right phone alternative for you.
My first introduction to Skype was last summer when my church was hosting a missionary from Ukraine. He used my internet connection with his laptop, put on his headset and within minutes was talking to his wife and child who were back home in Ukraine. I asked him how he did that and he told me all about Skype. Since Skype was developed and is based in Luxembourg, its popularity radiated out from its European roots. Today, Skype has over 100 million downloads of it's software and has become a very popular phone alternative throughout the world. I have since tried out Skype and highly recommend it, especially for anyone who does a lot of traveling, since all you need is an internet connection and a laptop (or a desktop). It can save a lot on the long distance fees that wireless services charge.
Phone Alternatives that Act more like traditional phones
If you are still partial to a traditional phone, there are internet services that allow you to talk over the internet in a more traditional manner. Services like Vonage Canada and Verizon VoiceWing utilize your internet connection, but then use an adapter so that you can plug in your regular phone to the service. Although you are talking over the internet, you won't even notice since the phone will work virtually identical to a conventional landline phone. You can even keep your same phone number. Services like Vonage Canada and Verizon VoiceWing are subscription based and usually run about $39 per month. While that may not seem like much savings over your traditional phone service, the upside is that these plans usually allow long distance calling at local rates and usually have very reasonable rates for international calls. If you are a light caller, Vonage Canada has a great Basic Service that allows you up to 500 minutes each month of local and long distance for a single low rate (currently $19.99). This is a great value for voice over internet (VOIP) service!
Calling Cards are Great for Saving Money on Long Distance charges 
The final phone service alternative that you might want to consider is the use of calling cards. While calling cards don't allow you to talk over the internet, they do offer fantastic long distance and international rates from your landline or wireless phone. Our favorite phone card provider is Pingo Canadian Phone Cards. PingoMobile routinely saves customers 90% or more on international calls from mobile phones, even compared to international cellular plans. And, PingoMobile works with any phone carrier!
In short Pingo Canadian calling cards allow you to save money on long distance and international calls from your home, business, or mobile phone. Why pay your phone company or wireless service exorbitant rates when Pingo can do it for so much less? And Pingo virtual calling cards are less of a hassle to use than traditional phone calling cards because
Pingo lets customers bypass entering a PIN from the 10 home, business, and mobile phones they use most.
That's convenient. And that makes Pingo Canadian calling cards another great long distance phone alternative.
We need your tips on saving money with alternatives to the traditional phone
These are just a few ways to save money on your phone bill. If you have a phone alternative, method or company that saves you money over traditional phone service, please let us know, We want to be helpful and would love to add your own tips to our page. Please email us at Online Business Reviews.
Mark Sullivan is a freelance internet consultant living in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
If you would like to contact Mark, you can do so through Online Business Reviews.
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