Skype In + Out to replace landline a good idea?

[wung]

hey guys,

Anyone have used a skype phone?
I'm looking for ways to save some money for my parents and thought maybe the following would work:

1. get skypeIn + skypeOut for $6/mo. (i think that's the price)
2. buy a skype phone for $100-$200
3. switch to Comcast cable from DSL
4. cancel landline and DSL.

You think that's a good idea?

One think i'm aware of is that you can't call 911 with Skype, but both of my parents have cellphones that can call 911 ...

[WhiskeyPapa]

If I were single, or if I had no kids, I might consider it.

However, you have to leave the computer running 24 hours a day to use Skype (at least if you want to receive calls.) You'd have to disable sleep mode. Unfortunately, some estimates put the utility cost of running a computer 24/7 at $30 per month. After you consider that, you're probably not going to save them any money.

Why can't they just cancel the landline and use the cell phones?

[attgig]

i thought the skype phone negates the need for the computer being on 24/7.

no?

[mechmike0034]

Skype has voicemail (http://www.skype.com/allfeatures/voicemail/) available.

[ArkiStan]

There are many other VOIP phone services that work over your internet connection (e.g. Vonage). Not sure how the prices compare to the Skype phone, but they are generally more affordable than a conventional land line. My GF uses Vonage and it seems to work pretty well, other than the occasional outage as a result of your internet being down. She works at home dealing with a bunch of international clients and for one of her recent deadlines an internet outage caused her to lose her phone service. Time Warner's next available slot for a service rep was in a week so she had to make tons of overseas calls for a week with her cell phone. Needless to say her next cell phone bill was ridiculous.

[wung]

However, you have to leave the computer running 24 hours a day to use Skype (at least if you want to receive calls.) You'd have to disable sleep mode. Unfortunately, some estimates put the utility cost of running a computer 24/7 at $30 per month. After you consider that, you're probably not going to save them any money.

Why can't they just cancel the landline and use the cell phones?

like what attgig pointed out, i plan on getting the skype phone so i don't need to leave the computer on for that. As for cell phones, I don't want them to use too many daytime minutes. =)


There are many other VOIP phone services that work over your internet connection (e.g. Vonage). Not sure how the prices compare to the Skype phone, but they are generally more affordable than a conventional land line. My GF uses Vonage and it seems to work pretty well, other than the occasional outage as a result of your internet being down. She works at home dealing with a bunch of international clients and for one of her recent deadlines an internet outage caused her to lose her phone service. Time Warner's next available slot for a service rep was in a week so she had to make tons of overseas calls for a week with her cell phone. Needless to say her next cell phone bill was ridiculous.

If i'm not mistaken, I think Skype would cost only $6 a month for SkypeIn + SkypeOut (also the one time cost of the skype phone). Vonage is $25/month so it's a pretty big difference in price.

MechMike: yeah, they have voicemail too so it's a definite plus! Now i just need to find a good Skype Phone to see if this will work out ... =)

[johnnymk]

Is this for long distance calls? I use calling cards from Rite Aid. When they are on sale, they are only 3 cents per minute.