I have a buddy who has internet VOIP set up (not Vonage, another company whose name escapes me at the moment). When he first got it set up, he was running a 1.5MB DSL connection. He quickly found out it wasn't fast enough and had to upgrade to a 3MB connection (I think he has a 7MB connection, now, but those weren't available back then) in order to be able to really effectively use his computer systems AND the VOIP phones at the same time. He also pays a monthly fee to the phone company to have DSL but NOT have a phone number through them (which is asinine to me). I know that he had the work done so that all the phone jacks in his house are now compatible with the VOIP phones. There was also a problem, previously, with dialing 911 from a VOIP phone and not being able to get a local 911 connection but I believe all VOIP phone providers are required to have that functioning properly now so that if you do make a 911 call it gets through to the appropriate emergency response folks in your area. A lot of VOIP companies offer the ability to place a second or even third number in a different area code so if you have friends and family in a different state they can call you through a local number, basically, to cut down on their long distance charges. There's usually very low long-distance charges involved with VOIP phone providers and they usually offer all the voicemail, call-waiting, caller ID and other options you could possible want for free. So, if your internet connection is fast enough, it can work pretty well and save you quite a bit of money if you make a lot of long distance calls. The downside is, if your power goes out your phone is dead, dead, dead. With traditional phone lines, at least they are self-powered so you can plug a corded-style phone into it and still be able to dial out.
jag
