 |
||
| Home | ||
| Pros & Cons | ||
| Alternatives | ||
| How To Switch | ||
| In-Home Wireless | ||
| Our Picks | ||
| Unwired Discounts | ||
| Search Our Site | ||
|
|
||
 |
| Our Recommendations: |
 |
For Lowest Possible Price: If you already own a cellular phone, your lowest-cost option is to cancel your home phone line and handle all of your calls with cellular. Consider transferring the wireline number to the cell phone you use at home the most. You may need to increase the number of minutes in your plan or switch to a provider with the cheapest acceptable Unlimited plan, such as Cricket Wireless, who promotes the use of their phones as a substitute for your home phone. Some cellular carriers, even prepaid, offer inexpensive rates to international numbers, either as an 'add-on' feature, or included with your plan. You can also use cellular as your internet access, either with Unlimited access or, with some carriers, a Pay as You Go feature. Our focus is on wireless communications, but if you don't want a cellular phone or if you don't want to use it at home, and you have a home broadband connection, consider a very basic IP service that does not charge a monthly fee. Some of these services may be a little too basic, so you might consider a 'normal' home phone service, which will charge a monthly fee. Some alternatives offer a discount if you pay a year in advance, but you might want to change providers before then. Remember, we want to be portable. |
|
|
For The Most Reliable Unwired Service: Next to wirelines, cellular phones are very reliable. Their backhaul connections most often use wired and microwave trunks, with some level of redundancy. Your own handset is really the only weak link, and if you have a backup cellular phone, you have a cheap way around that. Broadband networks depend on several pieces of equipment out of their control: Your broadband provider's router or modem, the alternative provider's equipment, your power source, and possibly your computer. |
|
|
To Regularly Communicate with Family in Foreign
Countries: Some cellular providers offer a way to make free or cheap international Long Distance calls. Some broadband services offer "computer to computer" connections that can be free and often provide a video connection at no additional charge. While we would still favor cellular as your "regular" home phone service, you can also add on a Local plan to your broadband service for a regular monthly fee. |
|
|
To Reduce Long Distance Charges: You can make most of your domestic Long Distance calls on your cellular phone for no additional charge. There are a number of landline-based alternative phone service providers which include US long distance as part of their package price, as do several local telephone companies. To go cheaper, especially for international calls to countries outside of North America or Western Europe, a broadband service could be a good choice, but only if the costs and rates are substantially cheaper than landline or cellular alternatives. In most cases it requires a wired connection. Prepaid Long Distance phone cards may be almost as cheap, are far more reliable, involve no extra equipment, and can be used with your cellular phone. |
|
|
To Replace Your Fax Machine: Get rid of your fax machine and the paper, ink, electricity and phone line that go with it. Get an Internet-based fax service like eFax or MyFax.com. You get a real fax number and you can handle all your faxes like any other document. |
|
| Our Favorites: |
 |
Cellular Carriers:
|
|
|
Broadband Phone Carriers:
|