The OOMA VOIP Hub Saves Money on Your Phone Bill

With the new services, such as Magic Jack and the Ooma VOIP service, you can literally purchase your phone service equipment. Then you completely cancel your phone service through your telephone or cable company. The Magic Jack charges an annual fee and has a lower quality service, so this article focuses on the Ooma VOIP service, which has a high quality phone service and does not charge a monthly or annual fee (unless you want to opt for that special service). You still do have to pay taxes, of course.

The Ooma phone service says that you fire your phone company. You purchase the initial equipment, set it up according to the instructions in the box, and then cancel your phone line. You get unlimited phone service, both local and unlimited, and the Ooma VOIP service works over your internet connection. After the initial fees, it is FREE! (Unless you opt for the additional services, which we will discuss later in this article.)

Once you buy the equipment, the free Ooma voice service includes caller ID, voice mail, and call waiting. It includes free calling throughout the United States, and has a very high quality services. I've had another VOIP service in the past, which worked very well when we lived in one part of the country, but did not work very well when we moved. The Ooma service seems to work well from most places. You can also choose to pay for additional phone services if you wish.

This is the easy part. Once you pay for the initial equipment, you cancel your phone service through your cable company or your phone company. You no longer pay long distance phone charges or local phone charges, although you will still have to pay taxes, of course. And, you will still have to pay for your internet connection, but you'll do that anyway. I figure that I'm saving a minimum of $25 a month on my phone service alone. Over the course of a year, this pays for the equipment. After the one year period, all the savings is money in the bank.

Remember that the Ooma service is good for the life of the Ooma company. Theoretically, you will never have to pay for phone service again. I figure that, as long as the Ooma company stays in business for a few years, it will save me a decent amount of money. And now the service is being sold at reputable dealers such as Best Buy and Amazon.com, so I have confidence that the VOIP service will help me save money on my phone bill for some time to come.

The Ooma equipment is very easy to set up. Once you purchase the hub, you simply plug the equipment into your internet hub. You'll be asked to go online to their website to enter some information from your unit, and then you'll be ready to use your new phone unit. If you wish to transfer your existing phone number, you can keep it if it is available in your area. There is a $39.99 fee for that service. Personally, I think the additional fee may be worth the convenience.

You can purchase a used Ooma unit from a source such as eBay, Amazon auctions, or another source. You may be able to save a considerable amount of money, but remember that you will have to pay a reconnection fee to be able to connect the unit to the Ooma service. The connection fee is $79.99. In addition, the unit will not be covered by any warranty. For that reason, I suggest that you purchase the unit new. You'll save a lot of money on your phone service in the long run.

While you can find the Ooma hub and other equipment on eBay and from other retailers, there is a $79.99 reactivation fee when you purchase the Ooma equipment from an unauthorized retailer.

So I highly recommend that you purchase the Ooma hub / VOIP phone from an authorized retailer. You can buy it from Amazon.com, Best Buy, Staples, New Egg, the 3G Store, Buy.com, Solid Signal, and Costco.