In order to save money, many writers and freelancers are dropping their landline or cell phone service for Internet phones. But is it a good choice?

"I switched to internet phone service for the savings on local and long distance, and the portability. I can take my modem with me anywhere in the world and still be a local call for contacts and clients in Chicago. It was very easy to setup and the sound is very clear. I mostly love that I can call Canada for free and get all the features like 3-way and call waiting at no extra charge," says Lesley Batson, a marketing consultant here in Chicago, who points out that cable connection may make a difference. "I now get my cable and internet service through RCN. When I used Comcast, there were some issues with the sound quality for people on the other end but that went away when I switched to RCN. I honestly haven't had any problems since then."

Freelance writer Chris Badowski is a big fan of Skype. "Currently, I only use it with one contact I'm doing business with in Sydney,
Australia. The connection is MUCH CLEARER than my regular phone and IT'S FREE. I used to use my regular phone and the times I've called it's been echo-y and static filled. I really am amazed at the quality of an Internet connection. I only use the built-in mic and speakers -- I haven't yet plunked down money for a hand-held connector. With Skype, I went to their Web site, choose to download and voila! Then it let's you find your contact, you see when they are on....if you're both on, you click, it dials and you're talking."

But it works great for me and honestly, I wish I had
more international friends!

An AT&T Vantage user I spoke with loves the service, noting "The cost savings far exceeds any small problems. "Service is great, it sounds just like a land line, however, I do get static when I am by the microwave and it is in use.

However, not everyone I spoke with has been happy with Internet phone service. "My husband and I had Vonage for a little over a month (in order to keep our phone number when we moved), and then switched back to a normal land line," says video editor Jessica Alter from Brooklyn. "There were several problems with the service -- most automated dialing services wouldn't work at all, the sound quality on calls was VERY low (lots of static, randomly dropped calls, volume too low, etc), and then there was the customer service. To be honest, we might have stuck with it just for the price, but my husband is a journalist working from home, and conducts multiple phone interviews every day, so high quality phone service is a must.

"Maybe I'm crazy, but I happen to think that if one is running a phone company, one should have a working phone line. They do not. Their customer service automated menus are infuriatingly slow to respond, and have a nasty habit of randomly hanging up on you. The best way to get an actual person on the phone is to press random numbers until someone picks up. They have a separate number that you must call to cancel your service (no way that I could find to do it online), and this line NEVER picks up. Sometimes there's a message telling you that they are experiencing unusually high call volume and could you please call back later, and sometimes it just rings and rings until it hangs up. I was never able to get a human being on that line. It's just not a working number.

"The first time I called to cancel, I managed to get ahold of someone via the regular customer service line who told me that the cancellation department was very busy, but if I left my name and number, they'd call me back the next day. After a week, I still hadn't heard anything, so I called back (tried the cancellation line again...no dice). It took me three days to get ahold of an actual human being -- the automated answering service just kept hanging up on me! Eventually, I got someone who promised to transfer me to the cancellation department, but after I was put on hold for 15 minutes, instead of transferring me, they hung up. Probably just a mistake, but see above, re: phone companies should have working phone lines. At this point, I was furious, and contacted the Better Business Bureau.

"During this time, I also sent several emails to every customer service email address I could find, hoping that SOMEONE would let me cancel my service. I recieved no response for over a week, and the response I finally got was obviously a form letter sent by a computer. Nobody is reading those emails.

"After more than two weeks of this, I FINALLY got ahold of someone who could cancel my account. I was then sent a series of automated emails telling me at least 5 different conflicting versions of when I needed to return my adapter to avoid being charged for it. I think I made 3 of the deadlines. We still haven't sorted out all of the billing issues -- personally, I don't think I should have to pay them a dime for the crappy service I recieved, but on the other hand, trying to get a refund would mean having to talk to them again, which it might be worth paying to avoid."

Plus, even if you don't encounter the problems Alter did, you will have to find out however from your company what kind of access you get to 911, as the FCC warns customers that getting a good connection to the emergency line may be difficult, and that's obviously a big drawback. So investigate wisely, and don't throw your landline or cell away just yet. For more information on the various services, LifeHacker, helfpul as always, has tips and guidelines on different companies and programs.