A couple of years ago, I tried out a few Internet phone systems and found Ooma to be the best. Now, with the second-generation Ooma Telo system featuring sleeker cosmetics and newly upgraded software, there's even more to recommend. I'm contemplating cutting the cord from my old-school landline and using Ooma as my home phone system. Here's why.
WHAT A DEAL: The cost of an Ooma Telo base station - $229 from www.ooma.com - pays for itself in just a few months if you're simultaneously subtracting a monthly house phone bill. Ooma connects to your Internet modem/router, so you need a DSL or better broadband service. But Ooma then makes and receives FREE calls to anyone in the U.S. who's on a landline, mobile or Internet phone. All you pay Ooma are monthly access taxes of $2 to $4. When first registering your Ooma, you decide which area code you want for the new phone number you'll get. Or you can "port over" your current phone number to the Ooma.
Call landline phones in locales from Canada to China from an Ooma system for less than 3 cents a minute. Calls to foreign-based mobile phones are pricier. It cost me 33 cents a minute to schmooze last week with the Lagos, Nigeria-based musician Femi Kuti. Still, not too shabby.
Oh, and if you have friends and family abroad, as I do, you can ship them an Ooma setup with a U.S. phone number and billing address, then talk with them for free. (More on that below.)
EASY INSTALL: Ooma offers lots of connection options. The base station can work with up to four cordless Ooma Telo Handsets ($50 each) that operate in the DECT 6.0 frequency mode and hold a strong signal 100 feet away from the base.
