CLEVELAND, OH – New stats show the average bill for phone, Internet and TV runs more than $150 a month. That has some people looking to cut corners.

One way to trim your costs is to cut the cord and switch to a phone service that delivers calls via the internet.
Ken Lipke switched his phone service to Ooma just over a year ago. “I think it’s a no-brainer. I’ve saved, since I’ve used it, over $400,” Lipke said.
Ooma is a device that connects to your Internet service on one end and your regular phone on the other.
There’s a one-time cost of about $150 for the black Ooma box  and then the savings begin.
Local and domestic long distance calls are free. You pay just a few dollars per month in taxes. International calls cost extra, but the rates are also very low.
In a survey of more than 50,000 Consumer Reports subscribers, Ooma is the top-rated phone service.
“Our readers who have Ooma service rated it higher than people with any other service, and gave it a top mark for value or what they got for the money.”
There is a limit of 5,000 minutes of calls per month. If you want to keep your home phone number, you have to pay an additional one-time fee of $40.
“As for reliability and the quality of the calls, our survey found that Ooma’s ratings were on par with traditional service from big companies like AT&T or Verizon,” Consumer Reports’ Rosalind Tordesillas said.
Ken Lipke says he has no complaints.  “I don’t lose calls, drop calls. It’s very good quality.” He pays just under $4 a month for the service. “I’d rather spend the money on something else, like a good dinner with my wife!”
This applies to both private and business phone lines as well !