The Intellistudent mantra is that we save students money and time, so pay special attention here: Nowhere on our site saves you more money than this section. Internet phone service, or voice-over-IP (VoIP), is slowly killing the trillion-dollar phone companies. And no one should be happier about their gruesome and painful suffocation than you, the consumer.

Phone service over the Internet is pretty much free. Two cents a minute or something like that, depending on whether you're calling someone in the U.S. (that's usually free) or in China (that's a couple cents a minute). If you have an Internet connection (and we know you do!), you must look into it. Otherwise, you're donating your hard-earned money to some of the richest monopolies this side of Saudi Arabia.

 



Circuit City
Along with the other things that electronics giant Circuit City sells, they also sell VoIP equipment and services from companies such as Vonage and CallVantage.

One of the advantages of the Circuit City web site is the user reviews. Make sure to read up on what other people have to say about the product or service you're interested in to make sure there's no surprises. And, if you buy from Circuit's web site, you can have it shipped to you, or you can pick it up at the local Circuit City store.

Circuit City


Skype
Skype is a program that runs on your computer and allows you to talk to anyone else running Skype anywhere in the world. For free. They also have services that allow you to make and receive calls to/from people that still have traditional phone lines or cell phones.

Skype was developed by the same guys that created the KaZaA network. Skype has been downloaded over 177 million times and as long as your friends and family have a computer and broadband, you can talk to them for free.

Skype





120 x 60 with phones
SunRocket
SunRocket offers complete phone service, including unlimited calling with the U.S. and Canada, plus features such as call forwarding, call blocking and complete logging, all for hundreds less per year than the phone company.

The big advantage SunRocket has over the other guys is simple pricing. All taxes, etc., are included in the price and, you can pay a full year in advance.

SunRocket


D-Link Voip by Lingo
With D-Link's VoIP Phone service plans, you'll have everything you're used to with your current home phone system and a lot more.

D-Link offers several plans to choose from, all cheaper than what the telephone company charges, all with long distance included. There are usually rebates and promotions in place that get you the equipment free.

D-LinkVoip

Unlimited Local & Long Distance - $19.95/mo.