Phoning In, Cable Style
It’s an idea with a really nice ring to it: A fresh choice in telephone service. With Cable Digital Phone, you get the same reliable telephone service you’ve come to expect, plus you keep the same telephone numbers and the same phones. But you’ll enjoy a new array of choice in prices and packages that already have the whole neighborhood buzzing.
It’s an idea that’s catching on everywhere. That’s because cable companies are combining TV, Internet and phone services into a single package, at a competitive price, on one monthly bill. Some cable companies are even offering special prices on telephone service for customers who also receive other services, such as cable high-speed Internet service. And customers of cable phone service in many communities enjoy pricing perks like unlimited long-distance calling, call waiting and voicemail.
That’s not all. By providing TV, Internet and phone services, cable companies are able to mingle features and create new conveniences like Web-based management of calling features. Soon, customers will see more options, like caller ID on TV. That way, you can be watching a sports event, glance at a message on the TV screen to see who’s calling and determine whether to take the call or leave it to voicemail.
Cable Digital Phone is simple. You pick up the phone, you dial and you talk. You can use the same telephone sets that you’ve been using, and you can use cable TV, the Internet and the phone all at the same time. The big change is behind the scenes, in the technology that makes your voice travel to and from your caller. Cable companies use the private, high-speed Internet connections they’ve installed in millions of homes to carry calls. They run the calls over their cable lines and use a cable modem (the device that also connects your PC to the Internet over cable) to activate all your existing telephone wall-jacks for digital phone service.