In this day and age, it's interesting that there are still a ton of residential and business users that are paying out the nose for phone service, when there are lots of new, cheaper options. It's hard to believe that many of the business and home users are still paying Qwest and ATT the same old prices, when ATT and Qwest are giving them digital service, which is actually the same thing as internet phone service, but with a much higher cost to the consumer.

Quite a few of the consumers and businesses that are using old fashioned landline companies, do so because they are afraid that if they switched to a discount landline phone company, or VoIP company, the quality of their phone service would go down. But, what doesn't make sense, is that everyone is using cell phones to talk on, and cell phone service quality is always lower than that provided by landline and VoIP companies.

The truth is, that you can order all types of phone service online for way less than what you're paying for a plan that comes from ATT or Qwest, even when you are getting your service from those same carriers. A lot of consumers don't know that discount phone carriers buy the phone services that they resell from AT&T, Qwest and Global Crossing. This means that if you decide to go with a company like TCI or Pioneer Telephone for 2.9 cents per minute long distance telephone service, all the calls you make are actually running over ATT's, Qwest's or Global Crossing's phone lines.

If you're looking for a good cell phone deal, check online first. Online cell phone resellers sell cell phones and plans for all the major carriers, but they sell them for less. While the plan fees will be the same as what you would pay signing up directly with the cell phone company, the cell phones that you get from a discounter is usually worth way more money. While you might get a free $100 phone when you sign up directly with the carrier, you might get a $500 or $600 phone for free when you sign up with one of their resellers.

And, last but not least, for you diehards out there that swear you're not going to switch away from AT&T or Charter Digital, or Cox, or any of the other cable or telephone companies who offer phone service to consumers and businesses, guess what, you're already using VoIP and you don't know it. The truth is that the phone service you get from any cable company is VoIP, and the phone service that you are getting from AT&T U-Verse, or anything with the word digital in it, is a voice over IP product. So, why would you be willing to spend $25-$50 per month for digital phone service from your current provider, when you could get the same thing from Magicjack for $20 per year?

Lowering your monthly phone bills isn't really hard, but it does take some research. By using phone service comparison companies that offer phone service rate calculators, you can find companies that provide the same services that you use now, but at a fraction of the cost.