True, calling card rates nowadays are almost as cheap as VoIP but you can’t use your phone card to make calls through the internet if a regular phone isn’t available. And if you are always on the move or traveling in another country then mobile roaming will just burn a hole in your pocket.
So I told my college buddy that VoIP is great, just great. It allows me to make inexpensive phone calls from my normal phone (using an ATA device) and anyone from around the world can call me for the price of peanuts, or sometimes even for free. Still, a fixed line is more reliable as you can still have your phone service in case of power failure or internet downtime. VoIP is a great back-up for landline, and a very affordable one too.
VoIP providers are like mushrooms, popping out here and there and vying for the cheapest rates, more features and what not. This is not good for the providers because most of these small VoIP providers will succumb to pressure and just belly up like the bygone Sunrocket. Even big players like Vonage are starting to find themselves in the wrong side of the fence after an early boom. But I am not complaining. This is good new for us consumers. More choices mean cheaper and hopefully better VoIP services.
And then you have a hybrid service like OneSuite, which combines calling card, VoIP, international roaming, internet fax all in one account. There you have it. Savings wherever I go, however I make the calls, VoIP or not. And that's my happy ending.
