If you have not yet tried Voice Over Internet Phone (VOIP) service yet, then you are in a good position to try it with a plan that will give you the first six months free.

ViaTalk is a company out of Upstate New York offering Internet Phone Service at residential rates that are less than $16 a month. My local phone company and cable company have both made countless pitches at me to try 'digital' phone service, which is essentially the same thing.

Their services typically start out at $25 a month, and I have to pick up their super duper Gold Plated Platinum Anniversary Plan with so many bells and whistles that my bill rapidly gets ratcheted up to $125 a month. I don't need all that.

For $16 a month I get what used to be considered a full service plan by my local phone company until they found ways to slice and dice and double the price with ala carte options.

If you try ViaTalk you can call any where in the US or Canada free for the first 6 months. They also offer up business packages. So if you run your own business from home or have a home office for telecommuting, there is absolutely no need to go pay $90 in setup fees to have an additional line run and then pay the monthly service on top of it. Just set up a VOIP system through your broadband router or computer and you can be off and running, even with very affordable rates on international calls(we're talking pennies a minute!)

My brother-in-law just moved to Australia and we keep up with him on the VOIP line. You really can't beat it when it comes to price and add-ons like voice mail, conference lines, caller ID and more.