Phone companies want your practice's
business and there's a new blitz on to get you to switch.
Plus, the feds are in the process of further deregulating
services so expect to see competition heat up.
Currently, the per-line service
charge you pay doesn't change much from one company
to another (it hovers around $30 per line for commercial
use), so the switch-pitch usually centres around the
cost of long distance and additional services such as
call waiting, call forwarding and caller ID. Comparing
one plan to another is complex since charges for these
ancillary services vary from firm to firm and so does
your long distance usage.
THAT'S
FAMILIAR
In the end you may find it's much of a muchness. For
example, a recent comparison of Telus and Bell Canada
showed less than a 2% difference on a monthly practice
bill of around $180.00. Long distance charges now run
between 3.0 and 3.5 cents a minute in Canada so unless
you're a big long distance user domestically or make
a lot of calls to the US or overseas, there's likely
little financial advantage to switching to another conventional
carrier. Service may be a factor, though here again
you could find excellent service in one area —
internet services, for example — with awful service
elsewhere — info 411, for instance.
NET
GAINS
There are other options, however. Vonage and Skype both
provide the ability to talk to someone over the internet,
but that's where the similarities end. Vonage offers
a service that uses your existing telephone with added
internet services while with Skype you communicate through
your computer. Both systems require a DSL or cable connection
— high-speed internet, in other words.
VONAGE
After an installation charge of $120, Vonage charges
$56 a month for the first line, $51 for additional lines,
for their Entrepreneur Pro service. That pays for unlimited
long distance in North America and a basket of free
add-ons including all the usual ones that your telephone
company charges you for and some neat extras. The neatest
of these is to treat area codes other than your own
as local. For example, suppose you're in the 416 (Toronto)
area code and you do a lot of calling back and forth
between 604 (Vancouver). You could make arrangements
to allow people in 604 to call you from a local number.
Another bonus is that you can pick up calls using the
internet, and there are others. Find out about them
at www.vonage.ca.
All is not smooth sailing however.
You may experience some difficulties setting up the
service and some users have found it affects their high
speed internet connection. Not all area codes offer
the "local" call feature and after service is said to
be spotty. Also there have been difficulties with calling
911 in some areas. Before you make your move, check
www.vonage-review.com, a web site that says it is entirely
independent of the company and judging from the apparent
honesty of the comments, probably is.
SKYPE
It's free, so that's a plus. All you need is a computer
with a high speed connection. Go to www.skype.com for
a download and instructions on how to get started. It's
a straightforward process and you'll be all set to begin
talking to other computers around the world before you
know it. For $29.95 US a year you can add a service
that will allow you to call any phone on the globe from
your computer for a per-call charge of $0.39 US plus
2.1 cents a minute.
The system uses your computer's
speakers and microphone, if you have built-in ones —
like in your laptop, for instance. Most users find it
works far better if they have a headset with a mic.
Bluetooth-equipped machines with the appropriate earpiece/mic
work best of all.
The drawback: those you call must
be at their computers though a service is available
that allows you to leave a message. The system works
best PC to PC or Mac to Mac but cross platform improvements
are being made every day.
A plus: if you have video cameras
attached to your computers, you and your interlocutor
can see each other. This feature works especially well
with the new line of Macs that have built-in cameras.
Instant telehealth!
|
