Long Distance Phone Service

[Emily]

Anyone have a company that offers unlimited long distance that they have been satisfied with for a year or more?

Thanks
Emily

 

[Liz from N.J.]

I have Net2Phone Direct Calling Card (not Penny Talk) as long distance service. http://web.net2phone.com/consumer/callingcards/

It's .99 cents a month service charge. Calls in the U.S. are 3.9 cents (really 4cents a minute). I call alot to Aruba as I have a timeshare there. Calls to Aruba are 17cents a minute.

You do have to use for every call a access code (you can program it in your phone). If there is no local access code for your home area it is 8 cents a minute.

Been using Net2Phone for over 5 years. I'm very happy with the service.

It did take repeated calls to my local phone service to get long distance service taken off my phone bill.

 

[itchyfeet]

Try www.onesuite.com I've used this service for over three years - very satisfied. According to their web site the current fee for mainland US calls is 2.5 cents per minute. International calling fees are listed on their site. There is no monthly service fee. After enrolling, you can load minutes to your account with your charge card. There is an access code which is somewhat inconvenient, but I've found their service to be good. There is info. before each call that tells you how many minutes you have remaining in your account, so you can be sure to precharge your account before you're out of minutes. Your phone co. will not be happy to have you do this -- at least mine wasn't. I had to call numerous times and then I was charged to have their long distance service removed!

 

[rapmarks]

I have been using the caling card from Sam's club, but last time I was charged a $5 recharging fee. So I am interested in hearing how onesuite differs from a regular calling card. I got rid of long distance service at both my homes, but it is a bit inconvenient to dial all the numbers (the plus side is I make fewer long distance calls). I only have one phone that lets me program the numbers.

 

[stevedmatt]

I have used Vonage for over a year now. It uses my highspeed cable modem connection. The only problems I have encountered are that when my power or cable service is out, I also have no phone service. But for about $27 a month with all taxes and service fees for unlimited usage to US, Canada, and Mexico, it saves me about $40 a month from my previous phone service.

 

[Cat]

Try www.onesuite.com I've used this service for over three years - very satisfied. According to their web site the current fee for mainland US calls is 2.5 cents per minute. International calling fees are listed on their site. There is no monthly service fee. After enrolling, you can load minutes to your account with your charge card. There is an access code which is somewhat inconvenient, but I've found their service to be good. There is info. before each call that tells you how many minutes you have remaining in your account, so you can be sure to precharge your account before you're out of minutes. Your phone co. will not be happy to have you do this -- at least mine wasn't. I had to call numerous times and then I was charged to have their long distance service removed!

Another thumbs-up for Onesuite. You can go online to your account and pre-program your "access code" in so that all you have to do is hook up to the service (I have that programmed into my phone) and then dial the number you want to reach (no "1" is necessary, just area code and phone number.)

The $.025 per minute for US calls is when you use a local access number (most places now have them.) If you use the 800 number to access the service, as you will have to do if you don't know the local access number, or if there is no local access number where you are, the charge is $.029 per minute. The international rates are amazingly low. Check the website.

No charge for "recharging" your minutes. You can do it either online or by phone. Very simple, takes less than a minute. Connections are clear. We love Onesuite.

 

[irish]

i live on long island and use my cablevision company for tv computer and phone. bill is $34.95 every month no matter how many regular calls or long distance calls i make, or how long i talk. when i call my sister in michigan we stay on the phone for a very long time and bill is still just $34.95. i use to have verizon and phone bill was about $110.00 every month. sure glad i switched.

 

[Luanne]

All you need to do is work for the darn company. My phone bill is $6.36 a month. Includes all long distance, voice mail and our DSL.

 

[Blondie]

Another vote for vonage. For $16.00 or so a month with all taxes I get more than enough minutes of local and free long distance- and we do not skrimp either- we carry on as always and it is plenty of minutes (500 outgoing minutes, unlimited incoming). Once when my kids were home for Xmas I went over an the extra charge was around $4.00. I love it.

 

[BSQ]

Another vote for Vonage here. I save more than half off of my previous unlimited long distance carrier. We've been with them for 3 years now and have been thoroughly satisfied with their service. In that time I've lived in 5 residences and LOVE that I don't have to change my phone number or pay hook-up fees each time. It allowed be to also use it in my temporary housing during my relocation. LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

 

[bogey21]

Another thumbs-up for Onesuite.

I agree. I have gone to OneSuite's website and set it up so that it recognizes the phones from which I am calling, thus no need to type in a user ID. I have also put many of the number I call into OneSuite's memory. If you also put OneSuites local access number in memory on your home phone, making a routine call is (1) Memory XXX on your home phone and (2) memory XX when prompted by OneSuite. All this for 2 1/2 cents a minute with no monthly fee. I had to call Austrailia the other day and I think it also cost less than 3 cents a minute.

GEORGE

 

[fnewman]

I have a friend whose son travels the world (as a part of his job) and makes Singapore his home. They use Skype and say that they can talk all they want anywhere in the world for free !! (I believe that deal is good until year-end at least)

 

[swasuth]

IRISH

I live on Long Island also & I have Optimum for TV & Computer. I have Verizon & pay $34.95 month plus all the surcharges & taxes brings it to $55. Does your $34.95 bill include all taxes & surcharges. Actually the inside wire maintenance is $4.75 so the actual monthly bill is $50.00 with Verizon

 

[rhonda]

Our 1yr update: Love onesuite!

We signed up for onesuite a year ago based on this thread. It has worked out exceptionally well!

• Line quality is clear
• Easy to access call/account history via their website
• Can recharge minutes via PayPal. (I didn't have to give my credit card to onesuite.)
• Pre-paid minutes are last 6 months from last recharge. In effect, you have roll-over minutes as long as you re-up a few dollars every 6 months.
• Allows me to use one long distance plan across multiple phone lines.
• ZipDial allows me to act "PIN free" from 3 phone lines. (The long distance PIN number is tied to the phone number and handled automagically. Nice!)
• No "monthly charges" simply to maintain the basic long distance plan.
• Optional messageOne voice mail / fax plans converts all inbound faxes and voice messages to appropriate file types and forwards them as email attachments. Flat rate $1/month charge. (No Per message" charges.)
• US calls are charged at $0.025/minute if you can use a local access number and $0.029/minute when using the toll free access.

Another thumbs-up for Onesuite. You can go online to your account and pre-program your "access code" in so that all you have to do is hook up to the service (I have that programmed into my phone) and then dial the number you want to reach (no "1" is necessary, just area code and phone number.)

The $.025 per minute for US calls is when you use a local access number (most places now have them.) If you use the 800 number to access the service, as you will have to do if you don't know the local access number, or if there is no local access number where you are, the charge is $.029 per minute. The international rates are amazingly low. Check the website.

No charge for "recharging" your minutes. You can do it either online or by phone. Very simple, takes less than a minute. Connections are clear. We love Onesuite.