Do You Have to Activate Home Phone Service to Get Internet Service?
In the not-too-distant past it was essential to have home phone service if you wanted to connect to the Internet, because most Internet services used phone lines. But with the advent of cable Internet, you no longer need to have land-line phone service to get blazing Internet speed. This is great news for those who use their cell phones instead of regular phone lines in their homes. It’s also a good solution even if you keep your traditional phone line, because you can “bundle” your Internet access with your cable TV service and save money.
Here are some of the advantages of cable Internet:
- Cable Internet speeds are generally faster than most other forms of online access, depending on the plan you chose. Download speeds in particular are often much faster, which would have obvious productivity payoffs if you use the line for a home business. Since time is money, this could actually translate more money to your bottom line.
- Bundling your Internet service with your cable bill can save you even more money and time. Bundled services are often discounted and therefore provide significant savings. And if you manage the combined account online and pay electronically, you can save even more in the form of your time, plus the cost of writing checks and buying stamps.
- The faster speeds achieved through cable are appropriate for use with Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone service, which can further help you eliminate the need for traditional home phone service. VoIP phone service allows you to call a wider range of countries for no charge or just a small fee. The service also usually comes with features you would have to pay extra for with the phone company, such as call waiting, video calls, caller ID, call waiting, voicemail and conference calls. Fees for these services add up fast with traditional phone companies, so VoIP used over a cable Internet connection can truly save you money.
- Because of cable’s speed, video and audio files are easier to download and they stream much smoother when you play them through a cable connection.
- When you get both TV and Internet services through your cable company, you can often access additional Web services through the television that enhance both your entertainment and productivity.
So if you’re on the fence about which kind of Internet access to get, you owe it to yourself to compare cable Internet with other forms of Internet access to see if it would suit your particular needs.