What Is Internet Phone?

Internet Phone is another word for VoIP and is also known as Internet calling or Internet telephony. Internet Phone is a great way for people to save money on their monthly phone bill due to the low costs, big features, and voice quality that traditional phone services can't match. Internet phone service is available for your business as well as your home, and is offered by a number of big name providers.

Find out how much you can save today on Business VoIP

Compare top Business VoIP providers in the table below

Provider	Plan Features	Rate/min.	Trial Period	Setup Fees	Monthly Fees	Details
RingCentral	RATED #1 BY INDUSTRY EXPERTS Includes 100+ Premium Features Unlimited Calling, Faxing, SMS, Conferencing Trusted by over 350,000 Businesses As low as, per month/user	$0.00	14 day trial available to new subscribers	Free	^$ 19.99 _/mo. * Core Advanced Ultra Month to Month (per user) $30/user/mo Annual Contract Paid Monthly (per user) $20/user/mo Annual Contract Prepay (per user) $20/user/mo Month to Month (per user) $35/user/mo Annual Contract Paid Monthly (per user) $25/user/mo Annual Contract Prepay (per user) $25/user/mo Month to Month (per user) $45/user/mo Annual Contract Paid Monthly (per user) $35/user/mo Annual Contract Prepay (per user) $35/user/mo In order to determine the number of users you need for your RingCentral phone system, count the total number of devices you need, including desk phones, softphones, conference phones, and fax machines.	4.1 142 reviews Get Quote!
Alliance Phones	Alliance Phones Simple set-up in less than 30 minutes Efficient daily call report Easy-to-use control panel 12% discount for subscribing and paying for a year upfront.	$0.00	30 days	Free	^$ 19.97 _/mo. * Effortless Plus Simplicity Plus Easy Plus Month to Month (per user) 20 - 100 users $19.97 /mo. Annual Contract Prepay (per user) 20 - 100 users $17.58 /mo. x 12 Month to Month (per user) 4 - 20 users $24.97 /mo. Annual Contract Prepay (per user) 4 - 20 users $21.98 /mo. x 12 Month to Month (per user) 1 - 3 users $29.97 /mo. Annual Contract Prepay (per user) 1 - 3 users $26.38 /mo. x 12 In order to determine the number of users you need for your Alliance Phones phone system, count the total number of devices you need, including desk phones, softphones, conference phones, and fax machines.	5 13 reviews Get Quote!

*Rates shown do not include E-911 charges, taxes, and surcharges. Most providers offering unlimited calling have restrictions and some rates shown are promotional rates based on term contracts or promotional periods. Be sure to read individual providers terms and conditions before you buy. Rates and features displayed for each provider have been sourced from provider's site and other online sources. While we strive to display current information, be sure to check directly with each provider as their plans, pricing, and features are subject to change.

Find out how much you can save today on Residential VoIP.

Compare top Residential VoIP providers in the table below

Provider	Plan Features	Rate/min.	Trial Period	Setup Fees	Monthly Fees	Details
VoIPo	VoIPo Home Phone Unlimited Calls to US/Canada Over 45 Features + Free 2nd Line Free international call allowance $15.00/mo. or $6.21/mo. with 2 year contract	$0.00	30 days	Free	^$ 6.21 _/mo. * Residential Month to Month (per user) No contract $15.00 / mo. Annual Contract Prepay (per user) 2-year contract $6.21 / mo. In order to determine the number of users you need for your VoIPo phone system, count the total number of devices you need, including desk phones, softphones, conference phones, and fax machines.	3.6 48 reviews Get Quote!
1-VoIP	HOME PHONE SERVICE Unlimited Calling and Free Adapter Included No Contract or Cancellation Fee Over 40 Included Features $8.97 is monthly cost with 1-year prepay	$0.00	-	Free	^$ 8.97 _/mo. *	4.95 5 reviews Get Quote!
Axvoice	Home Phone Service Unlimited USA and Canada calling Free hardware and activation Money back guarantee, 30+ features $6.25/mo. 1-year prepay equals $75.00/year	$0.00	15 days	Free	^$ 6.25 _/mo. * Home Phone USA/Canada US/Canada 200 Pay As You Go Month to Month (per user) No contract $14.99 / mo. Annual Contract Paid Monthly (per user) 1-year postpay $10.99 / mo. Annual Contract Prepay (per user) 1-year prepay $6.25 / mo. Month to Month (per user) No contract $9.99/mo. Annual Contract Prepay (per user) 1-year postpay $5.99/mo. Month to Month (per user) No contract $4.99 / mo. In order to determine the number of users you need for your Axvoice phone system, count the total number of devices you need, including desk phones, softphones, conference phones, and fax machines.	4.2 73 reviews Get Quote!
Community Phone	Modern Landline Service No internet required, works even during power outages. Setup is as easy as connecting a charger to a phone, anyone can do it. Unlimited local and long-distance calling. Device contains a backup battery and is not designed to run without electricity indefinitely.	$0.00	30 days	$99.00	^$ 32.50 _/mo. *	5 7 reviews Get Quote!

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How Does Internet Phone Work?

Internet phone converts your voice to packets and completes your calls via your broadband connection.

Using an Internet phone is just like using a regular phone: the phone numbers, dial tone, and phone area codes are all the same.

The main difference between a traditional phone service and an Internet phone service is how the phone service connects your calls. While a traditional phone service uses outdated telephone lines, Internet phone uses the Internet to connect your phone calls to the public phone network.

Internet phone services utilize a technology called "packet switching". First, your Internet phone has to convert your voice into data packets with the ATA adapter. Then, your connection to the other caller is established through mapping, where the phone number you dialed is turned into an IP address. A soft switch then makes the connection between both devices, and opens up the session between them. Upon doing so, your voice (now in the form of digital data) can be transferred as a call using your Internet. Read more about the mechanics of VoIP here.

Instead of physically connecting two points (which is what the oldest phone networks used to actually do), Internet phone uses large banks of computers in data centers to transfer the sound of your voice from computer to computer. This is an extremely efficient process that improves as computer technology improves.

How Does Internet Phone Benefit Me?

Internet telephony is more affordable and more feature rich than a plain old telephone system.

There are couple ways that you will benefit you when you choose an Internet phone from a new VoIP provider. Some of the major benefits are:

Internet Phones save money.
Internet Phone has multiple useful features.
Internet Phone services include local and long distance calling (and sometimes free international minutes, too).
Internet Phone has high-quality voice calls.
Internet Phone has more affordable software and hardware (and BYOD options).

The biggest benefit of Internet phone is that it saves you money. When comparing an Internet Phone service to your traditional phone service, you can see that the pricing is significantly different. Plus, with certain providers you don't have to pay for additional features, number porting, or even equipment. Furthermore, Internet Phone providers also offer their customers cheap international rates. Check with your provider to see what is included with their Internet Phone plans.

Obviously, you need to have an existing Internet connection to use Internet phone. However, your Internet also needs to be fast enough to support it. You can use our Speed Test to see if your Internet is capable of running an Internet phone system.

Can Internet Phone Save Me Money?

With an internet phone, you can save up to 80% on your monthly phone bill.

Compare prices for traditional phone service with the prices offered by VoIP service providers if you don't believe us; compared to traditional phone service, VoIP will save you money.

If you visit each of the provider's websites or click the details button, you'll be able to see that the VoIP providers offer unlimited calling– and that's nationwide unlimited calling.

Usually, when Internet phone service says unlimited calling, they mean that you get unlimited long distance calls (both local and long distance are free). They also usually offer you a generous number of minutes per month. Sometimes, a provider will not put a limit on the number of minutes you can use each month. This policy of limiting minutes is known as the "Fair Use Limit" and Internet phone service providers put it in place to protect their networks from crashing due to excessive use.

Compare the VoIP provider's prices to the traditional phone companies. The traditional telecom companies charge as much for a local calling plan as ViaTalk or ITP charge for a nationwide calling plan. The traditional telecom companies also charge per minute for each long distance call.

So, the Internet phone services give you more flexibility for less money than traditional phone service providers. It's a good deal.

How is Internet Phone So Cheap?

Internet Phone is more affordable because it routes calls over your existing internet connection.

Internet phone is much cheaper than traditional phone service, making it very appealing for individuals and small businesses who are looking to cut costs. However, don't assume that just because Internet Phone services are cheaper means they cut corners on quality and options. It's quite the opposite! Internet Phone gives residences and small businesses more flexibility and more savings than a traditional phone service could. Here are a couple reasons why Internet Phone is offered at such low rates:

The main reason is low overhead: VoIP works with computers, which (for the most part) are becoming cheaper and cheaper. Because of this, you can use your already existing Internet connection to place VoIP calls and do not need to purchase a separate phone line.

And as mentioned above, the hardware and equipment required for VoIP is very minimal. There are also BYOD options available through certain providers, which allows you to use the phone you already have with your new VoIP service by connecting via an ATA adapter.

Also, VoIP providers are often competing for market share, so they can charge lower prices.

What Features Are Available with an Internet Phone?

Internet Phone comes with enterprise phone features for less money than traditional providers.

Some of the big telecom companies may offer the same features offered by Internet phone providers. However, each of the big telecom companies will charge you per feature; while most VoIP providers include features in their subscription price. These features range from call management tools like call forward and call hold, to collaboration tools like video conferencing and group paging.

For example, some of the popular telecom companies will charge you per month for voicemail; voicemail is free with all the Internet phone providers listed in the table above. The Internet phone providers offer features for free; you pay extra for any features with the traditional phone company.

Most of these features are free with your VoIP subscription but check with specific providers to see what is included with their plans. You can find a provider's feature list on their individual provider pages. And if you want clarification as to how a specific feature benefits you, use our information buttons to find out more.

In the end, Internet phone is a more affordable and more reliable way to connect than a traditional phone service and is also flexible and scalable to make for an all-encompassing, all-inclusive phone system.

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