VOIP Tech Chat → What constitutes long distance?

I'm looking for a VOIP provider for my home. I live in New Bern, NC 28562, area code 252. Unfortunately it appears I will not be able to get a local phone number. My area code (252) has VOIP providers, but these are based in nearby cities that are a not local call from my Sprint land line in New Bern. I need VOIP for outgoing calls only because I get free unlimited incoming calls on my cell phone. I use very little long distance and I'll use my cell phone for the long distance calls I make. If I can make unlimited local calls with VOIP, I'd prefer to buy one of the cheaper VOIP plans that do not include unlimited long distance.

What determines if a call is long distance? Will a VOIP provider consider ALL calls made from my home in New Bern, NC to be long distance since my VOIP phone number is not based in my city? Or, will they allow me to designate my home as my local calling area? Or, do they consider only calls made outside of from my area code to be long distance? Do all of the VOIP providers treat this the same way?

Thank you,
Steve Smith

This depends on the provider. They all have their own methods for determining what the local calling area is. For example, Vonage no longer has "local" or "long distance" calling. All calls are treated the same since they eliminated the local package and now have only 2: an unlimited and a 500-minute package. Both include calls to anywhere in the US and Canada. When they had a "local" plan, local was considered anywhere in the area code of the Vonage number (and in some areas, several surrounding area codes). Other providers define it similarly to POTS. You need to look over the plans of each provider you are considering to see how it will affect you. My prediction is that within another year or two, all the VoIP players will abandon the concept of "local" vs. "long distance." This seems to be the trend anyway.

Although I have not used them and cannot recommend them, Broadvoice offers an unlimited in-state plan for $9.99: »www.broadvoice.com/ratep ··· ate.html
With this all calls would be local in NC no matter where you are in the state (or any state).

Scott

Thanks for the reply. I found the following answer on the VoicePulse site:

What is my local calling area?

VoicePulse offers larger local calling areas than any other provider.
Since our service isn't restricted by the same boundaries as traditional telephone service, we can define our local calling areas to be larger!

In many areas of the country, even a call to your neighbor across the street is billed as long distance! We try to define our local calling areas to prevent this from happening to any of our customers. In most cases, your local calling area will include not just your area code, but every adjacent area code as well. Use the "Check Local Calling Area" tool to see our local calling areas.
The local calling area for (252) includes: 252, 910, 919

Thanks. I've looked at several plans and the BroadVoice unlimited in-state plan appears to meet my needs for the least money. I've decided to give them a try.

Steve Smith