Our experience with Vonage

If you know me, you know I'm always looking to save a buck. And you know I'm not a big fan of the cellphone.* So, when we moved into our Toronto apartment, I was looking for the best deal on a landline. I went with Vonage. I'm writing to recommend it if you have a landline, especially if you've also got a cellphone and high-speed internet.

For $20 a month, I get a package from Vonage that's worth at least $60, maybe $100. In the US, this package costs $15. It includes:
500 minutes anywhere in the US or Canada (after that 3.2 cents/minute)
caller-id
voice mail
call waiting
Any incoming calls or calls placed to other Vonage customers don't count against your 500, so we were in no danger of going over 500. But if you need more, you can get unlimited minutes for $40/month (only $25 in the US).

This is a great smoking deal, and that's why I'm posting about it. I highly recommend it over traditional landline providers. Really the only disadvantage Vonage has compared to the others is, if you lose power, you lose your phone line. Generally, that's never been an issue, though, and as I said, if you have a cellphone it really shouldn't matter.

The main thing you need is a high-speed internet connection, typically DSL or a cable modem. They'll send you an adapter to plug into your router or modem which will work with any regular phone.

But there's another thing. Vonage offers what they call a V-phone, which allows you to make calls through any PC on the web. That would by-pass the router and adapter all together. Which means, with New Orleans' free wifi, one conceivably could get a phone line for just $15 a month without the overhead of an internet connection. That's hard to beat! (Though, the city's free service isn't the greatest. But any calls you receive while not on-line would just go to your voicemail, which you can also check over the web.)

OK, I hope this helps you save some dough if you've got a landline. If you should sign up with Vonage and mention that I referred you, I'll get two months free. (Let me know if you need my phone number.) Though the purpose of this post is to tell you a great way to possibly save money, not sell you on something.

Good luck! And let me know how that goes.
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*I'm not a big fan of the cellphone, until I return to Louisiana and use my dad's, which was once mine but given to him for Christmas once I tired of it. (Merry Christmas, Dad.)