In years gone by the telephone company that serviced an area was the only telephone game in town. Times have changed and unless the telephone companies wake up they are going to learn that not are they not the only game in town but they are no longer even playing. There are options for land line phone service and one of those options is the Magic Jack.

Magic Jack is an Internet phone service using VOIP (voice over Internet protocol.) It works by plugging any standard telephone into the modular telephone jack receptacle on the adapter and then plug the adapter into the USB port on a computer that is connected into high speed Internet service (broadband, DSL, WiFi, FIOS, cable internet or WiMax; use with satellite internet service is not recommended. Their website gives a 1, 2, and 3 step operation. "1 plug any household phone into the magic jack", "2 plug the magic jack into any USB on your computer", and "3 pick up the phone and talk for free anywhere in USA and Canada!" Personally when I received mine and plugged it in as instructed the system did not download the required software within the 3 minutes as the package stated it should but after contacting the company they walked me through installing it step by step making it easy to start.

The cost for the first year is just $39.95 plus shipping and handling and $19.95 for each additional year. They also have a five year program which can be purchased at a discounted price. For this price you will be able to call any phone in the United States and Canada for no additional charge, voice mail, caller ID which is displayed on the computer screen, 411 directory assistance, 911 emergency, call waiting, and call forwarding. International calls can be made at relatively low prices but for those who wish to keep contact with family in countries other then US or Canada an additional Magic Jack can be sent to them and they can then be called for free and they can call anywhere in the US or Canada for free.

The Magic Jack has some interesting quirks which some might consider as negative points. The computer to which the system is connected must be turned on for the phone to work though voice mail will pick up any calls even when the computer is off and call forward will work with the computer turned off. If the Internet service is lost the phone service will also be lost and unless the computer is on emergency power it will also be lost during a power failure. Making local calls even in your own community requires the dialing of the local area code in order to complete the call. A control panel will be displayed on the computer screen which is best left up and not hidden. When a call is received there is a short delay between when the phone is picked up and when the calling party is actually connected.

A pro or con, depending on your point of view, is a new telephone number will be issued after connecting the Magic Jack adapter. The new number will not appear in the telephone book. When setting up the new number the user can choose any area code to be considered as the local number so a person living in California could use a Rhode Island area code and phone number if he or she desires.

The Magic Jack can be tried for free for a month and if the system does not meet the needs or expectations of the user it can be returned and Magic Jack will not charge the credit card used to purchase the system.

For more information go to http://www.magicjack.com or http://www.mymagicjack.com/ .