You only need a few simple things to be able to use Vonage.

• A high-speed internet connection, the faster the better.
• A United States or Puerto Rico address.
• A free Vonage phone adapter which will be provided at no charge when you sign up.
• A cordless or corded touch-tone phone

The graphic below shows how Vonage phone service functions.

VoIP, also known as Voice over Internet Protocol, is a very inexpensive way to make calls of quality clarity over the internet instead of using a standard phone line. Vonage sends voice data over the internet digitally and reassembles it at the other end. The people you talk to with Vonage will never know that you are not using regular phone service.

Why Should I Use VoIP

There are a lot of reasons to use VoIP. First off all, with Vonage Unlimited, you can talk as long as you want with one flat rate. Long distance calls are all included for free. International rates are also cheap. Vonage also offers a lot of free features such as Caller ID, Voicemail, and 3-Way Calling. VoIP is a way that you can get a lot more for a lot less.

To set up and enjoy Vonage in your home or office you need the following things:

• A high-speed internet connection such as cable or DSL.
• Any phone as long as it's touch-tone.
• A United States or Puerto Rico address.
• A Vonage phone adapter which will be sent to you free.
• A willingness to spend less money on your phone bill ;o)

You will receive your Vonage hardware in 5 business days or less after signing up. To get started, all you need to do is hook up you phone to the internet using the adapter. From there, pick up the phone and start making calls.

Yes! You can use multiple phones with Vonage and there are several ways to do so:

• Vonage sells some high quality cordless phone systems that enable you to use multiple phones. A few options are the Uniden UIP1869V and VTech IP8100 phone systems.
• Your home telephone wiring can be used to route Vonage throughout your house. In many cities Vonage offers professional VoIP installation.
• A cordless phone system is a great way to go. Simply hook up the system base-station up to your Vonage adapter and place the extra handsets anywhere you want in your house.
• You can also use a multiple phone jack extension or a wireless phone jack system. Just plug it into your Vonage adapter and you can then hook multiple phones up to it. Both can be bought at most local home centers. Wireless jack systems on rare occasion can produce signal interference.

Absolutely. Luckily your internet cable can carry much more data than you use at once. This leaves plenty of extra space for Vonage.

If you are downloading heavy amounts of data, it is possible that the quality of Vonage will be slightly diminished. To solve this you can configure downloads to use minimum bandwidth when you are on the phone.

Customers are extremely satisfied with the quality and clarity of Vonage.

You can actually pick just about any area code in the US you want. This is yet another great feature of Vonage. To double check if the area code you want is available, go to the sign up page and click the "Availability" link.

Vonage can usually be set up in minutes but sometimes take longer. All of the hardware Vonage sends to you will be pre-configured meaning that you will not have to do anything with it except hook it up.

If you bought an adapter at a retail store you can hook it up as soon as you receive an acknowledgement e-mail from Vonage.

Yes. Vonage functions normally even if you computer is turned off.

Vonage does use the internet, but making calls does not use your computer. The Vonage adapter will do all the work. Just hook it up to your modem and Vonage can access the internet directly.

In most cases, when switching over to Vonage, you can keep your existing phone number, regardless of who your previous phone company was. To ensure that you can keep your existing number, double check by entering your area code and prefix on the availability page during sign up.

Transferring Your Old Number to Vonage

All you have to do is select the keep existing phone number option during sign up. Vonage will then guide you through the rest of the simple steps. You can choose to switch to your existing number later if you want to test Vonage out before transferring your number.

Use DSL?

DSL users must keep their existing number to maintain a high speed connection to Vonage. In this case you can do one of two things. You can choose to switch your DSL service to another phone line with your carrier, or switch you cable internet. Either option is great.

Does It Take Long?

Unfortunately it takes at least 20 days. No worries though! Vonage will give you a temporary phone number to use until your old number is transferred. You can track the status of your number transfer in your online account.

What If My Number Cannot Be Transferred?

If your old number cannot be transferred then you can choose to use a new Vonage number with your area code of choice.

Transfer Your Cell Number

You may also choose to transfer your cell phone number to Vonage.

It depends.

Vonage requires that you have at least 90 kbps upload/download speed to work properly. Some satellite providers cannot guarantee this speed, so make sure your provider meets this requirement.

Vonage says, "...because of the latency of this type of connection, Vonage does not recommend this connection type". However, as mentioned above, if your connection meets the 90 kpbs upload/download speed you should be fine.

View details about the Vonage World plan (including the countries included) on the Vonage World page.