With more players jumping into the already populated space of Voice over the Internet Protocol (VoIP), the perceptive user has that much more choice. Vonage is a leading player in this marketplace with over a million subscribers worldwide in a short lifespan of three years. However, there is a set of negatives too, so wait until you reach the end of this review before you decide to switch from your traditional landline service to Vonage telephony.



What is Vonage and how does it differ from your landline connection? For a start, you must have a broadband connection, preferably cable-based; a dial-up is no good. When you call Vonage customer service for a connection, Vonage sends you a tiny box, which you have to plug to your telephone and your cable modem or DSL. You are now set to start a Vonage conversation. With a Vonage connection, you have access to your telephone through your computer and the broadband connection. The other big difference from a traditional phone service is cost effectiveness; with a Vonage, you can cut your telephone bill significantly, and converse worldwide by buying local telephone numbers from Vonage.

Vonage offers a set of four monthly packages for all calls in the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico: a premium unlimited offer at US$24.99, a basic plan of 500 minutes at US$14.99, a small-business unlimited package at US$49.99, and a basic small-business offer of 1500 minutes at US$39.99. For calls from the US to other world destinations, there is a nominal per-minute rate applicable, which is well below what you would pay to your landline service provider. For example, for a minute's call to Mumbai (India), you need to pay only US$0.17; for a call to the UK, it is as low as US$0.04 per minute.

Premium services like voicemail, caller ID, 3 Way calling, etc all come standard with the Vonage plan. There are other options out there for internet phone service similar to Vonage. However when it comes to a delicate technology like voice over IP address phone I recommend staying with the market's strongest VOIP service - Vonage.

Some of the the features that are provided by Vonage are; An unlisted telephone number, Call waiting, callerID, Call forwarding, 7-digit dialing, An innovative voicemail feature, Repeat dial, and Dynamic periodic feature updates. Vonage also provides a upgrade of features as well as unlimited international calling to most of Western Europe. It currently offers new customer's a fourteen day money back guarantee if you are unhappy with their service package. Vonage Small Business will provide your business with a dedicated fax line with 500 local and long distance minutes of outgoing fax service to the US (including Puerto Rico) and Canada, plus unlimited incoming faxes each month. Vonage clearly provides customer friendly VoIP solutions for all users who are seeking a cost efficient means for their daily teleconference needs.