by Deana Clark

Created on: November 16, 2008

I have had Vonage phone service for about 3 years now and I love it. Vonage is a VOIP service. VOIP is Voice Over Internet Protocol. Basically that means that your phone calls come through your internet. It is very easy to install. Once you sign up for Vonage, you will receive your introduction package in the mail that comes complete with a Linksys router/telephone adapter, an installation guide and a user guide. You can also go to a store like Best Buy and pick up a kit and install it that way. The router is the unit that will connect your calls. All you really need to do is plug the router into a wall outlet, connect to the cable modem, plug in your phone and within seconds you have a dial tone. I am not electronically challenged and I set it up myself with no problems.

Your account information will come in your package. It will include your account number, phone number and your username and passwords for the Vonage website and for your voicemail. Again, setting this up is explained step by step and very easy.

Once you set up your online Vonage account, you can do quite a bit on their website. Once logged in to your account, there is a dashboard. You can see your incoming and outgoing calls and the call durations. The billing screen has your billing cycle and billing charges. On the voicemail screen, you can retrieve your voicemail. This is great if you are at work and need to check your home voicemail. The features page allows you to configure the features such as call waiting, voicemail and call forwarding.

With Vonage you can choose from 3 residential and 2 business plans. I have the $24.99 a month plan which gives you unlimited calls to anywhere in the USA or Canada. You also get free features such as call waiting, call forwarding, voicemail, three-way calling and international call block included in your monthly billing. The $14.99 plan gives you 500 minutes per month to USA and Canada and anything over that is 3.9 cents per minutes. There is a start up cost to set-up Vonage for a onetime fee of $29.99.

The best thing about Vonage is that you can keep your phone number for as long as you have Vonage. You can move to another city or even another state and keep the same phone number. The only downside is that when you lose internet, you also don't have phone service.

I highly recommend Vonage phone service. All my calls incoming and outgoing have been clear and crisp and I have saved a ton of money on my phone bill each month.

Learn more about this author, Deana Clark.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.