Need help deciding on phone change(using computer), anyone have advice?

[Paper Roses]

I have Verizon as my local carrier with PowerNetGlobal for long distance. This arrangement has worked well for me for years. Most of my family lived out of state and my bills from PowerNetGlobal have been so low, it was great. Excellent service, never a problem.

I have still had to pay Verizon an average of $30.00 a month, even though I make very few calls beyond my free 3 towns.

Yesterday I looked into Magic Jack and also called PowerNetGlobal to see if they offered a better situation for me that I could use and get rid of Verizon.

My family has moved back to my state and now my calls to them will be a much greater cost because it is an area where regular rates apply. PNG would now not save me any money as the calls are now not long distance.

They have a deal where I can have unlimited nationwide calling for $19.00 a month.

I plug some kind of short wire into the back of the computer(i think it is a receiver of some kind.) They also send a box that I connect to the cordless phone. Phone and computer are about 12' from each other.

I know nothing about this capability except I was told that even thought I flip off the power switch on the computer each night, the phone still works.

They do all the work, send me the equipment and I pay the bill. None of the incredible access and line fees I now have from Verizon. And the calls are now free. the $19.00 is for the service.

Since I am completely ignorant about these things, I am wondering if this--or any other arrangement--is a good thing. I am assured the reception will not change and there are no extra fees. Just the tax, of course.

Anyone here have a similar arrangement? With whom?

I would really appreciate any guidance as my budget is severely restricted and I need to stop giving Verizon money far beyond any service they give me. I have eliminated Magic Jack because if you turn off your computer, you have no service.

Your thoughts are appreciated.

PR

[hobbit709]

1. If you are on broadband internet any VOIP will work fine.

Are you on cable internet or DSL? In this area you can actually get DSL service without a phone number account but that's not available everywhere.

The disadvantage of VOIP is if you lose power, no phone. I've used Packet8-now 8X8 for years as my VOIP which gives me a second phone number and unlimited long distance. Counting service, taxes and assorted government fees(i.e. hidden taxes) it costs me about $34/mo. I have DSL with just basic phone service. The reason I do that is so that I have one phone number for business and a second for everything else since I work primarily from my house.

As far as VOIP goes, they're all pretty much the same in terms of quality. I'd say better than 99% of my calls go through without any problems, sometimes it doesn't want to connect when I dial out so I just hang up and try again and it almost always goes through on the second try.

[Paper Roses]

2. I have broadband(Comcast) and my phone is a great old

AT&T cordless. No fancy bells and whistles.

I will be speaking again with the Rep from PNG, I cannot figure out how the phone would work if I switch off the power bar every PM. I know that if power goes out in my area, I will lose service but is not switching the power bar the same thing? I have a Tracfone cell phone for emergencies but never use it.

If you look at my Verizon bill I just paid, you will see what I mean when I talk about the charges.

Total Bill: 27.09
Actual phone call charges 1.10
Taxes, fees, other Verizon charges 9.49
Voice Services 17.60.

In other words, I paid 27.09 for $1.10 worth of actual local calls.

My PNG charge for long distance was well under 5 dollars without all the extra baloney. I think it was .025 cents a minute.

Since the long distance carrier used for calls is now useless to me, you can see why I need to find something else. If not, the charges to call my family, 50 miles from here will be huge unless I buy another plan from the fine folks at Verizon.

I'm scared I'll mess this up with either a phone that is not compatible or some computer related crisis.

[hobbit709]

3. The only phones that work during no power

are wired landlines and cell phones until either the battery dies or the cell tower loses power. As far as VOIP phones go there's a box that you connect to your router and plug your phone into the jack on the box. The only other connection is the power to the box. The VOIP will come with an install disk to set it up. It doesn't connect directly to your computer, you just use the computer to set up your account and set up the connect box. you can actually use the phone jack on the box to connect to a phone jack in the house so you can connect a phone anywhere in the house just by plugging into the wall jack like a regular phone.

Your Verizon bill shows that you pay $17.60 for the privilege of being connected, the $1.10 is for calls.

Here's my bill for my VOIP phone $24.99 for the service, $9.78 for taxes and "fees"

Monthly Service Charge $ 24.99
Directory Assistance Charge $ 0.00
In-Network Usage Charge INCLUDED
Out-of-Network Usage Charge $ 0.00
International Usage Charge $ 0.00
Taxes & Fees3 $ 9.78
Total Bill $ 34.77
E911 Service Fee (US Residents) $ 1.99
Regulatory Recovery Fee4 $ 3.00
State 911 Fee $ 0.77
Texas State and Local Tax $ 2.19
Universal Service Surcharge $ 1.83
Total Taxes & Fees $ 9.78

[Paper Roses]

4. Thanks, I had a feeling the rep was giving me some baloney.

Guess I'll stick with what I have until Magic Jack allows you to keep your original phone #. I understand that is change is in the works.

[Lasher]

5. I thought you could port your current number with magic jack right now.

Maybe I dreamed it.