Technology

Domestic long distance for life for $400

by Actual News Geezer | July 19, 2007 at 08:01 am | 331 views | 2 comments | 0 recommendations

If you're about to flag this as spam, Jordan - hold off one moment.

This story comes via Walter Mossberg, the amazing technology editor at Wall St. Journal. He's usually right about his tech calls, and on this story about a new Voice Over IP (VOIP) technology, he's first off the mark.

Imagine a device you pay for once - and then never have to pay for a domestic long-distance call ever again.

Of course you'll need a broadband Internet connection, but hey - isn't that one of the necessities of life?

First, Ooma is a $399 piece of hardware that you pay for only once. There are no monthly bills. You just buy an Ooma Hub, a small device that looks like an answering machine. You plug it into your Internet connection and attach a phone, and you get free, unlimited domestic calls, local or long distance, as long as you keep your Ooma.

Second, with Ooma, you can easily keep your regular phone service as an integrated backup, for 911 calls, and in case the Internet service in your home goes out.

From Wired.com:

Ooma have cleverly circumvented some of the problems that put Ma and Pa off internet telephony. First up, you can keep your land line and it is handled by the Ooma. If your Internet connection goes down, calls are re-routed, and emergency calls can be made at any time. Also, as this is a once only purchase, you don't have to worry that the company will go the way of Vonage and face shutting down.