Sunday, September 6, 2009

Cheapest Long Distance

The long distance rates are getting outrageous. It is almost cheaper in some cases to just hop on a bargain flight to tell your bit of good or bad news directly. The phone companies know that such an idea is not a viable one, so they have you, or at least, they hope that they do. The phone companies are hoping that all of the new technologies do not catch on, but with so many people looking for ways to save a buck or two, they can just give up that ghost.

So, short of falling back to the telegram or the Pony Express, what is a person to do? There are cheaper alternatives, with a few minor exceptions and adjustments. The reason that the phone companies can continue to up their rates without an end in sight is because at one point, they were the only game in town. Then came the Internet, and mobile phones and soon the phone companies had plenty of competition to fend off. Now instead of calling up our friends and family, we can email or text them or use our mobile phones to make a call, without racking up our long distance charges. Cell phones are so popular and so widely used in some areas, that landlines have gone the way of the dinosaur. But, the phone company knows that there continues to be those areas of the country where the cell phone towers have not made it, so the landline remains firmly in place there. And the alternate, the voice over IP option will only work with a broadband internet connection, which is also a problem in remote areas of the country.

Adding the equipment and software necessary for voice over IP may still be cheaper per year than the regular, traditional phone company's charges for the same amount of service. The voice over IP services offer clear, low cost phone calls and again, in most cases, long distance is free. There are some fees involved with additional services, but there are fees associated with those with the regular phone company as well. Checking of the internet voice services should be your first step to finding the cheapest long distance service. Make sure that VOIP is available in your area, and then look at the best equipment type for you. Also make sure that you understand the basic concept of this new technology and then start dialing your way to free or low cost long distance phone calls.

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