October 18, 2006

I work in a home office in a tiny two-lawyer firm, Coolidge & Graves. We practice intellectual property law.

By August, my monthly long-distance phone bill had risen to more than $100, and become a definite irritant. I had checked out the various traditional phone company long-distance options and had what I considered a reasonably good plan. I just didn't like paying so much.

I had heard of Internet telephone service, called Voice over Internet Protocol, and wondered if I could use VoIP to reduce these costs. I was a bit skeptical at the outset, fearing that I would have a difficult time talking to non-VoIP phones; and that I would be obliged to buy equipment to implement a new system.