Anybody use VoIP
 

Currently I despise my local telephone company and they are my only choice. If I call across the street it is long distance (slight exageration but not by much) I was thinking about dumping DSL and my phone service and going with cable modem and a VoIP service.

I can get RoadRunner for $45 a month and 500 anywhere minutes of VoIP for $15 a month.

Drops my monthly DSL/Telephone service from ~$100 to $60

Does it work well. Any hidden gotchas you have look out for like with cell phone contracts

Thanks

I don't know too much about VoIP but at least with cell phone contracts - I always check the length of the agreement and the overage minute rate because that is where they really hurt - cell phones are truly the way to go as long as you don't give the number to telemarketers. Also watch for hidden stuff - toll fees and additional long distance stuff if you don't get a national plan - I have used some other online phone companies when they were starting out - www.dialpad.com - very good service.

I think VoIP is going to be great.., one day. There are still some issues with signal quality and handling delays, both of which can cause voice distortion. This becomes more apparent when a call is IP on one side and traditional copper on the other side. There are also issues with 911 including no service in a power outage. With traditional phone service, even if the power is out and you have a telephone that does not require power, you have dial tone! Even if you have battery backup systems in place, they will only last so long.

I can't wait to hear about worms/viruses or Denial of Service attacks on Voice over IP connections.

I believe it is Cisco that currently uses VoIP throughout their facilities. This is a situation where the quality will be better because there will be no need for the packets to go from digital to analog and back and the calls will stay within their system.

If you try it out, let us know how it works!

I'm using Skype to talk to several buddies. Quality is very good except on dial up. I like the FREE part!