2008 VoIP trend alert – VoIP services let consumers keep traditional phone service too

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December 20th, 2007 - Posted by Joe

We feel strongly that many of the VoIP services we have reviewed, such as Vonage, can be a fully acceptable replacement for traditional phone service without giving up any quality or reliability.  But, there are still many consumers that aren't comfortable with making the switch from the traditional phone service.

This is somewhat hard to believe given all the benefits of VoIP over traditional phone service. For example, VoIP services typically cost significantly less per month than traditional phone service and offer many features, such as access to voicemail over the web and free long distance, that traditional phone just can't match.

The good news for consumers that are interested in VoIP service but aren't quite ready to give up their traditional phone service is that so VoIP providers are developing solutions that allow a traditional phone line to live in harmony with VoIP technology. This trend is in full swing in England and we are starting to see similar offerings in the United States.

For example, ooma, one of our top rated VoIP service providers, offers two different versions of its service- one that only uses your broadband connection and one that integrates both broadband and your standard telephone line. The main benefit of such an option is that it allows consumers to maintain a traditional phone line which typically means keeping their existing phone number and having access to phone service in the case of a broadband outage.

Frankly, we feel that the quality of the top VoIP providers is so good that the extra line is typically unnecessary. That being said, it is important to some people and we always see more options for consumers as a good thing.

We expect to see more developments in this area in 2008 and will be chronicling all new VoIP services and features as usual. In the meantime, check out our in-depth coverage of VoIP service providers at NextAdvisor.com.