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WebHostingFinds.com > EarthLink > Voice
EarthLink Voice
EarthLink has stated that their focus is the small and medium business and,
true to their strategy, they’re making sure they’ve got the bases covered. One
of the new bases for Internet users is Voice over IP (VOIP), where voice calls
can be made anywhere in the continental USA and Canada
using a
high speed
Internet connection. With landline call rates in the USA already competitive,
the service offering must compete on price and must definitely compete on ease
of use. The EarthLink VOIP service, or trueVoice, can be used with an existing
telephone and high speed service – EarthLink will send the customer an Analog
Telephone Adapter (ATA) that is used to hook up a normal telephone handset to a
high speed Internet connection. With the ATA installed, calls can be made
exactly as before, or using the EarthLink Click-to-Dial software, where the
user can click on the contact they wish to dial. Once the phone rings, the user
picks up the phone and can speak to the dialed contact when they answer their
phone. Ease of use is definitely covered – EarthLink’s service is really easy.
On price, the trueVoice product comes into its own: for a flat monthly rate,
calls are not charged at all. The EarthLink trueVoice basic service is
currently offered at $14.95 per month, with a 500 minute calling limit to
numbers anywhere in the continental USA and Canada, and subscribers who ran up
conventional telephone bills of over $50 will save immediately, for the
Unlimited offer is $24.95 per month.
Dial-Up customers will of course not be
eligible for VOIP as dial-up bandwidth is insufficient to make VOIP calls.
International calls are reasonable on trueVoice too, and compete favourably
with the Skype VOIP landline and mobile international dialling rates, the other
attractive international dialling option for high speed Internet users. Again,
EarthLink competes extremely well when it comes to offering their customers
top-of-the-range Internet connectivity solutions.
trueVoice offers an online account management service where the subscriber
is able to integrate their high speed Internet contact list and their telephone
contact list, a definite advantage over the landline option. There is an
“Enhanced 911” service offered, which requires some care on the part of the
subscriber, as the location of the trueVoice service, meaning the point at
which the subscriber makes their calls, must be clearly specified to EarthLink,
for the 911 personnel to locate the call. The service has some locale
restrictions, but if the subscriber would be using their mobile phone to make
911 calls anyway, as I would do, this is not a problem. Subscribers with cable
may keep their existing telephone number, but DSL subscribers will require a
new number, since the DSL service requires a different, always-on telephone
connection. An added bonus is that the service is a month-on-month service with
no contracts. If the subscriber is already a contracted high speed Internet
user, the no-contract relief of EarthLink’s trueVoice is a commitment to
improving their customers’ experience and further cements their reputation as a
service-first company. It makes little sense as an EarthLink customer to
continue to pay for a traditional telephone service when a single subscription
point with EarthLink can offer everything a landline gives and so much more.
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