There is an interesting poll underway at TechCrunch on what people use for their home phone service.  It’s no surprise that many TechCrunch readers – early adopters and tech savvy consumers – have opted to use their mobile phone as their home phone.  Though you will see in the comment string that it’s not a reliable experience.  Cell coverage is spotty (that’s putting it nicely) and other people in the home may prefer the form factor of a home phone.  Not to mention the clarity and reliability a home phone can offer.  It is nice to see that broadband VoIP service is holding the number two spot.  And most people would rather not talk to a computer screen when at home.

We think many more people will find themselves using VoIP solutions without knowing it.  VoIP, alone, sounds complicated.  But consumers are realizing, or need to realize, that the technology has matured to the point where clear and reliable phone service can be delivered over an Internet pipe instead of a legacy wire.  The carriers know it, too.  They would just rather bundle the service with a contract and monthly bill, but you can get all the benefits (and many more) of a landline phone using an Internet router instead of an RJ-11 wall jack.

So, what do you use for your home phone service?  TechCrunch poll results below.  Where do you fit in?

TechCrunch Poll Results: What do you use for your home phone service?

Good news this week on the growth of the residential VoIP market.  Many people have looked for alternative phone service solutions in an effort to reduce monthly household costs so this research is no surprise. We just hope it continues as things slowly improve.  Thanks to the proliferation of residential broadband, there is no reason to pay for home phone service, good economy or bad.

In the first half of 2009, VoIP services brought in nearly $21 billion in revenue, with both residential and business services looking healthy and poised for even more growth for the second half of the year, according to a report by market research firm Infonetics Research.

Residential voice services still brings in the majority of revenue, with the number of subscribers growing 14 percent from the end of 2008 through the first half of ‘09. On the business side, the research firm said it expected IP Centrex and hosted unified communications service revenue to grow 26 percent year-over-year.

But the current sweet spot, at least in North America, is small businesses with fewer than 100 employees. In the first half of the year, roughly two-thirds of all IP Centrex seats sold went to small businesses.

via Seeking Alpha

When was the last time you thought about how much your monthly phone bill cost? You and millions of others out there with home phones probably set up your phone service when you last moved and haven’t thought about it since.  Either you have accepted the phone bill as something you will always have to pay for, or you don’t think there is a reliable alternative.  Either way, you’re paying too much.  It’s time to escape from those legacy carrier fees and contracts that have held your pocketbook hostage all these years. It’s time to look at Ooma for reliable phone service using a home broadband Internet connection that will provide you with a fully integrated home phone system with advanced features that doesn’t require you to change the way you use your phone.   Check out our recent Today Show appearance, when Ooma was  featured as a hot holiday gift:

Ooma isn’t your traditional carrier. Ooma delivers its service over the Internet using the voice over internet protocol (VoIP). By using the Internet to place calls, Ooma is able to offer its users free home phone service with a suite of advanced calling features that legacy phone companies cannot match. Ooma allows you to call anywhere in the U.S. with no monthly fees and no contracts. You only pay once with Ooma – for the price of the Ooma device – and never pay a phone bill again. Your one-time purchase of an Ooma system gives you free home phone service with the outstanding voice quality and ease of use of a traditional landline. There are no headsets, no calling codes to enter, and no need to log onto a computer. With Ooma, use your phone like you always do, just pick up and dial.

For many consumers, the advantages to placing calls over the Internet with Ooma are clear. Stop being nickeled and dimed by your traditional phone service provider.  Start using the broadband Internet connection you already have to provide you with crystal clear, free home phone service.

This is an exciting time in the home communications market.  It’s time for us all to step back and think twice about the things we use and rely on, how much we pay for them, and if there is a better way.  Whether it’s Ooma or another approach, the point is that the increase in home broadband services should offset, or in this case, eliminate, the need for other services.  Like old-time phone carrier contracts and monthly bills that we have come to accept as something we just have to tolerate.  Well, we don’t.

Join us as we explore these ideas.  We are excited to hear from you and discuss these ideas. There will be many new features available in the coming months and years and we will provide a thoughtful platform to discuss them.  Click here to read some of the common questions we receive about Ooma, and please let us know if you have some of your own.