Information Systems: Jason's Web Site Tips:
How to pay $1.66 a month for unlimited local and long distance calling
October 11th, 2008
By Jason Levy
Broadband
internet has introduced many new and innovative ways to place telephone
calls over the internet. Several years ago
Vonage attacked
the telecom market, introducing unlimited calling plans to the U.S.,
Canada, Puerto Rico, and five select European countries for $34.99 a
month. What a deal at the time! Competing plans through
local carriers were well over $100 a month. With the current
Vonage plan you get voicemail, caller ID, and a few other options.
I said goodbye to Verizon and signed up with Vonage. A few years
later I switched to Optimum Online and combined my phone, high speed
internet, and cable bill into their "package deal". I am not sure
if it is really a deal at $190 a month, but that's besides the point.
About a month ago Vaughn Thompson called me and asked me if I ever heard of "magicJack". "magicJack... no, what is it?" I asked him curiously. He briefly explained it to me and led me to the web site (www.magicjack.com). He told me he has been using it for a few weeks without problems. OK, so what exactly is magicJack? Essentially it is free local and long distance calling. Well, not exactly free, but at $19.99 a year ($1.66 a month), it is close enough. The first year is actually $39.95 because you need to buy a piece of hardware magicJack mails you, but each additional year is $19.99. When you pay online, you are presented with even more savings, so it is possible to pay around $1 a month. I avoided the upselling because I wanted to try it for a year before committing to a lengthier contract. They also offer a free 30 day trial.
What are the catches? Currently, you can not port your current phone number to magicJack, so you are forced to get a new telephone number, but the web sites states "You will be able to transfer or port your existing local phone number to magicJack, for a nominal fee, in the coming months." Additionally, magicJack runs through your computer, so unlike Comcast or Optimum Online, your computer needs to be powered up all the time. If it isn't, you cannot use your phone and all calls will go to voicemail. I never turn my computer off, so this isn't a problem for me. Moreover, you could buy a used computer and use it as your "phone server" to run magicJack.
To date, the only problem I have had was one caller stating that the volume was too low. Besides that, it has been working great. For now it is a $40 research and development project, but it could soon enough replace my two phone lines. What a dilemma I have, two phone lines with magicJack for $80 a year or $720 with Optimum Online?
Please let me know if you have
any questions!
I appreciate your feedback to date!
Jason