Long Distance

Welcome to Long Distance

Choosing A Residential Phone Service

Your residential phone service is a significant factor in keeping you connected with the world. There was a time when the original AT&T completely dominated residential phone service, and you had no choice but to use them. These days, your residential phone service may be supplied by a number of different compnaies, using a range of different residential phone service technologies.

The original residential phone service was what is now referred to as a POTS line. POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) was a term coined when the proliferation of other acronyms emerged - DSL, ADSL, VoIP, ISDN, GSM, CDMA, and 3G(UMTS), just to name a few.

A POTS line transmits your residential phone service over twisted pair copper wire. This gives you a nice, clear signal, but has limited capacity and limited flexibility.

As homes started to connect data services, whether it was cable or satellite services, or internet connections, the possibilities for the residential phone service began to open up.

DSL and ADSL services offer a residential phone service which is usually cheaper then a standard POTS residential phone service. This type of residential phone service uses extra equipment installed in the telephone exchange to route calls to and from your residential phone service.

ISDN services bypass the copper wire, and instead transmit your residential phone service over optical cable. Obviously, ISDN services are only available in areas which have optical cabling installed - usually areas with a lot of businesses.

VoIP technology uses your internet connection to route your residential phone service. At this point in time, calls made with VoIP technology are of much lower quality than calls made on a POTS line, or via ISDN, DSL, or ADSL. You will need to decide how important call quality is for your residential phone service. The quality of VoIP calls is constantly improving, as bandwidth is added to the internet worldwide, but for now it is still a consideration for your residential phone service.

GSM, CDMA and UMTS are call phone technologies. IT is possible with come carriers to set up a residential phone service using cell phone technology. When you are at home, your calls are charged at standard local call rates, and when you are away from home, your calls are charged at cell phone rates.

Some people bypass the residential phone service completely, opting instead to just use their cell phones even when they are at home. This option can be expensive, so it is a good idea to have some form of residential phone service, even if you rarely use it.

VoIP is a good option if you have a bit technical smarts and don't mind the occasional drop-out, crackle, or muffled quality to your calls. Otherwise, combining your residential phone service with your broadband cable service can produce significant savings.

And, if all else fails, the POTS residential phone service is still the trusty, reliable workhorse it always has been.