While most of us grumble about the size of our phone bills, and I have had many conversations with folk who continue to use dialup internet access because they can't justify broadband. However I am convinced that many need to look at the larger picture and consider a combining a move to broadband with using "Internet Telephony" or VoIP (voice over internet protocol) as there are substantial savings to be had.

The impact of VoIP is starting to be seen by the number o offers from the big telcos offering bundle deals which include a number of phone calls (local and national) together with ADSL internet. Some even give you the choice to ditch your telephone line altogther! While the thought of not having a fixed line telephone may be daunting, there is a middle solution which may cost a little more (typically $20 per month) but allows the best of both worlds.

As an example of the nature of the savings, consider a regular monthy phone bill of between $90 and $120 made up of mostly local and national calls. On possible alternative that I have helped a few people put in place is to down grade the home phone to the most basic plan typically $20/mth combined with a $40 ADSL plan with at least 5Gig of download (capped with a minimum speed of 512kbs), and a VoIP plan of $15-20/mth (which usually includes at least 150 local and national calls but could as many as 300 to unlimited). This gives a total communication bill for the month of just $80! And no rude surprises.

For our office I have a basic phone plan $20 per month, a substantial internet connection - $55/mth ADSL 1.5Mbs (10Gig capped) from Internode and a minimum $20 Nodephone account (VoIP from Internode) which includes a telephone number and $15 value in calls. While Nodephone calls are charged at 18c per call I rarely see the phone component of my bill even approach $30. For me the cost of is typically $95 - $105 per month. And I make calls right across Australia every day! I am free to talk as long as is required knowing that my call only costs 18 cents untimed!

While I could save even more on the call costs I have found that to make business calls, Nodephone is worth every cent as the call quality is always superb and in 2 years of using this system I can only recall a handful of times where I was cut off. If you are mostly using your phone for personal calls then variable call quality or drop outs may be worth living with for the tiny cost of making another call. The big players in the space are Engin, GoTalk and MyNetfone.

There is one crucial component that is best purchased outright to make all of the above work smoothly and that is an ADSL Modem/Router with integrated VoIP and perhaps wireless - Billion have been my favourite for the past 3 years.

The other options from the links of Optus, Virgin and Vodaphone might the topical of another post. As might the option to go naked with your DSL!