Spokane area offered Web-based phone service

Spokane-area residents can now sign up for Internet-based phone service, a New Jersey company announced Wednesday.

The Spokesman Review -From staff reports

Vonage, based in Edison, N.J., is offering local and long-distance calling for monthly rates. The company uses VOIP — voice over Internet protocol — as an alternative to traditional land-line phone systems.

Customers pay either $25.99 or $39.99 per month for phone service that connects through the user’s cable modem or DSL service.

The higher-priced option allows unlimited long-distance calling, said Marie Stenberg, a company spokeswoman. The $25.99 option offers 500 long-distance minutes.

Vonage has 15,000 customers nationwide in about 70 cities. The company also has business-customer rates giving more options at a higher price.

Stenberg said customers find several features of the product appealing, including the ability to retrieve messages away from home by playing them back as voice messages on a computer.

http://www.spokesmanreview.com/news-story.asp?date=032703&ID=s1326055&cat=section.business