At 26 Sep 2007 15:04:00 -0700 SMS wrote:
> Voicestick used to offer a plan where you paid only for minutes
> used. I got an e-mail today stating that they will begin charging
> $3.75/month beginning October 1st.


Yep- end of an era! Among the cheaper alternatives for an incoming
VoIP line now are callwithus.com (monthly rates depend on how
"desirable" the incoming number is,) SIPNumber.com (rural Iowa numbers
only- they live off of the usurious fees they skim from the USF by
being a "rural telephone company" so they actually WANT you to
receive lots of incoming calls!), OneSuite.com (doubles as a
"pinless" calling card,) Galaxyvoice.com (select New England numbers
only, a $25 "setup fee" and $2+/month in E911/USF fees) and, God help
us if Larry reads this, ;-) Skype's $3/month SkypeIn service.

You're welcome to borrow one of my two Stanaphone.com NY-area numbers
for your upcoming trip- they closed their doors to new customers, but
haven't closed any existing accounts yet! Free incoming, $0.016
outgoing.
;-)


--

"I don't need my cell phone to play video games or take pictures
or double as a Walkie-Talkie; I just need it to work. Thanks for
all the bells and whistles, but I could communicate better with
ACTUAL bells and whistles." -Bill Maher 9/25/2003