September 13, 2012

Know How... 11: Ditch Your Landline Phone

20 minutes

Make calls online instead of using your landline. Leo and Iyaz look into solutions they've used to make calls over the internet instead of having a plain old telephone service.

You don't need to keep a landline phone any more because you can do your voice calling online. Today, we took a look at solutions that Iyaz and Leo use on a regular basis to replace a plain old telephone service.

Skype:

You can get credits or a subscription so you can call regular phone numbers.

If you're willing to call only the US or Canada, it'll cost you a whopping $3 a month for sort-of-unlimited minutes (Skype says there's a fair usage limitation: All calls will be disconnected and require a re-dial after a 2-hour duration).

To receive calls you'll need a Skype Online Number.

For handset options, you can use your smartphone, your computer, or a Skype adapter. However we haven't had the best experience in our tests with Skype-specific handsets.

Skype does not support e911 or emergency calls.

Leo's pick was Obihai. It's a box you buy once and lets you make calls for free. It hooks into Google Voice and does some gymnastics with Google Talk to make voice calls.

Ooma:

Buy the box, pay a yearly fee for taxes.

To find out the fee Taxes and Fees Calculator.

Ooma does support e911.

Allows you to port your number for a $20 fee.

Mobile component: pay app and it still costs you 1.9 cents per minute.

Hosts: Iyaz Akhtar and Leo Laporte

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