How to get cheap long distance calls

How to get cheap long distance calls

In the old days, long distance calls were always expensive, and to be avoided at all costs. Today, several factors have converged to bring cheap long distance to consumers, starting with deregulation of the telecommunications industry and the breakup of the Bell monopoly. The entrance of cable companies, which now compete against the incumbent telcos, added more competition; and this was fueled even further by startups offering even more alternatives. But by far, the greatest contributing factor to cheap long distance is Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

Just a few years ago, any missive about how to get cheap long distance was couched in secrecy and had an air of illegitimacy. But the days of "phone phreaking" and other such mischief have been rendered irrelevant. Cheap long distance, or even free long distance in some cases, is commercially available and very common. And what's even better, the call quality of cheap long distance services is equivalent to the best phone service offered by the incumbent long distance companies.

VoIP - Telephony of the Future

In today's era of hyper-competition in the phone industry, there is one secret to getting the best cheap long distance, and that is, do your research, and read between the lines. There are plenty of different vendors positioning for your business, and the startups and smaller companies you may never have heard of before deserve a good, hard look. They may well offer the better deal for equivalent quality and service.

One thing to look for is "package deals" and the popular "triple play" offers, which combine phone service, broadband Internet and television service; the discounts afforded by the package deal often translates to excellent rates on long distance, or increasingly, a one-price rate. For those who commonly consume long distance services regularly, the flat rate service may be the best avenue to cheap long distance, but consider your usage before buying. Do you make only one or two long distance calls per month? If your long distance service is minimal, the flat rate may be the worse option; instead, cheap long distance may be best obtained through by-the-minute deals, or even long distance phone cards.

If you do choose to go the phone card route, beware of the "gotchas." The published rate may be a penny a minute, but there may be a fifty cent connection fee, there may be an expiration date involved, and there may be a weekly charge against your card—and that penny a minute quickly adds up to being quite expensive. Read the fine print and be sure to get a legitimate cheap long distance deal from your phone card vendor.

In many cases, you will find that VoIP vendors will offer the most attractive deal, with cheap long distance accompanied by a host of highly desirable value-added features—such as the ability to access voicemail through your computer, call recording, fax service, and the convenience of traveling anywhere in the world with your laptop and retaining access to your home phone number.