Vonage vs. AT&T vs. Verizon FiOS

Two U-verse Voice communication plans were available from AT&T; as of July 2011. The Voice Unlimited plan offers unlimited calling within the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada, as well as the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and the Northern Marianas. The Voice 250 plan includes 250 minutes each month, with fees charged for each additional minute once you exceed the monthly allowance. The Voice 250 plan does not include calls to Canada. The Voice Unlimited starts at $35 per month, and the Voice 250 plan starts at $25 per month. AT&T; also provides standard home phone services, including in areas outside its fiber network.

Verizon FiOS Digital Voice features Freedom plan unlimited and per-minute plans with local, regional and long distance calling. Options to purchase local and regional calling plans are also available. Where FiOS is not in your community, Verizon also offers standard voice communication plans. Verizon home phone plans range from $43 to $62 per month, depending on your location and on the number of calling features you would like to include with your plan.

To access home phone service with Vonage, you connect a Vonage phone adapter to your existing high-speed Internet connection and your existing telephone. As of July 2011, Vonage offers four residential phone plans. Unlimited local and long distance calls within the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico are available for a regular rate of $25 per month. Plans with 300 and 750 outbound minutes cost $12 and $20 per month, respectively. The Vonage Pro plan, including land line calls to France, Ireland, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, costs $35.

You can enhance your voice communication plan if you are subscribed to an additional service with Verizon FiOS and AT&T; U-verse. For example, if subscribed to a digital television or high-speed Internet plan, you will be able to see your call history on your television set or online, and even manage your voice mails online. While Vonage and AT&T; offer their suites of calling features such as caller ID, call forwarding and call blocking, Verizon bundles its features with individual calling plans. In PC Magazine's 2010 Readers' Choice Awards survey of 10 VoIP service providers in the United States, Verizon received an honorable mention and ranked third. Vonage and AT&T; ranked fourth and sixth, respectively, in overall customer satisfaction.