By Esther Schindler

Most high-speed Internet providers assemble their online packages with the expectation that customers want many services with the greatest convenience. Or, at least, they see your desire to upgrade to a faster Internet connection as an opportunity to get you to sign up for every service that they offer.

Some folks, for example, switch all telephone service to their mobile phones. They no longer see the need to own a "landline" (that is, plain old telephone service, sometimes abbreviated as POTS). Or they may be convinced that their voice telephone needs can be met adequately with Internet-based phone services, such as Skype. (Collectively, the phone services over the Internet are called VOIP, for Voice over IP.) If they aren't going to use an "ordinary" phone service, these people figure, why pay for it?

If you chose your cable TV service as the best choice for your Internet service, none of this presents a problem. The cable company may try to sell you on the advantages of their voice telephone services, but a simple, "No thanks" usually suffices.

However, users who choose DSL services instead of cable-based high-speed Internet have a slightly harder time: By default, the phone company that is probably your main DSL provider expects to use or to install a regular phone line. They will merrily assume that you want POTS along with the Internet connection; in fact, they have to install at least a minimum amount of such service for the DSL connection to work. The key word is minimum. The phone company is prepared to charge you for voice service, but it is irksome to spend money on a service that you are certain you will not use.

Fortunately, in most parts of North America, it's possible to avoid that expense. But don't expect that it necessarily will be easy.

DSL All By Its Lonesome

When you call your DSL provider to get a price quote for service, the magic term to ask for is "standalone DSL" (also referred to as "naked DSL" and less often as "dry DSL"). Technically speaking, standalone DSL is a DSL connection without analog telephony service -- what most people would describe as "without a dial tone."

Standalone DSL service has been available erratically in some geographies and with some telephone companies for at least a few years. But some users report on online discussion boards that their phone companies made the price distinction meaningless, such as charging only a dollar less for DSL-only service than for DSL-plus-phone.

Today, you can expect to find the option available more widely because of a relatively recent agreement that AT&T made (reluctantly) with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the agency that controls the U.S. telecommunications industry. As part of the negotiation for the FCC to approve AT&T's acquisition of BellSouth, AT&T was obliged to begin offering naked DSL.

As a result, if you happen to live in an area that's serviced by these companies, you should be able to get AT&T's standalone DSL service for $14.95 - $34.99 per month, without needing to buy any other AT&T service, including phone.

Your local phone company may already offer an option for standalone DSL, but don't expect it to be an obvious choice on its Web site. Standalone DSL may be a convenience to you, but it isn't necessarily a convenience to them. Most of the "follow the bouncing ball" menus don't even give you the option of no-phone-service-please. Realistically, if this is something that matters to you, you may need to pick up the phone and speak to a sales agent.

Should it matter to you? If you aren't sure when you last used your landline phone to make a call, it may be worth considering. Giving up a POTS service means that you probably won't be listed in the telephone directory or phone book, but for many people that isn't a hardship. Plus, depending on your geography, 911 calls may not go to the most-local dispatcher. Also, having a naked DSL line means having no dial tone - so, if something does go wrong with your line it will be harder to determine if your service has been interrupted.

It's up to you to decide if the cost savings are worth those inconveniences, assuming that the cost savings are significant enough, for your particular situation.

Most people don't need standalone DSL for there Internet Service; they want a regular telephone, too. However, for those with the unique requirement, it's great to pay for exactly what you need... and not a bit more.

You deserve to get the most out of your services, whether it's high-speed Internet, phone, cable, or HDTV. Digital Landing is here to help, making it easy to find out everything you need to know about digital services for your home.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Esther_Schindler
http://EzineArticles.com/?Standalone-DSL---When-You-Dont-Want-a-Phone-Line,-Too&id=1656905

Routers Articles

Win-Spy Monitoring Software Monitor Your Home PC Or Any PC Within Your Wireless Network. Monitor A Cheating Spouse. Records Any Password. Monitor Any Email. Monitor Via Webcam And Mic.  Continue Reading... Computer Repair Home Study Course Learn How to Repair Your Computer Today! - Save money on costly repairs and even start your own business. Join thousands of others who learned new skills, jump started their careers, made extra money, and started their biz with this Computer Repair Course!  Continue Reading... Overclocking Your Cpu to the Extreme Who Else Wants To Turn There PC Into A Extreme Gaming Rig Without Spending A Single Cent On Hardware? Discover how to unleash over 900% of CPU performance from your PC in a just a few easy steps, then watch in awe as your game's frame-rates double overnight!  Continue Reading... PC Secrets How to make your computer boot up in mere seconds. Exactly how you can Instantly end any threat of Spyware, Trojans and Viruses destroying your computer from the inside out – for good! Secret Insider settings that with just a few clicks will speed up your computer MULTIPLE TIMES. Instantly And Easily Optimize and Speed Up Slow, Crashing, Freezing Computers Even if You Completely Suck at Computers! Fix For All PC Issues.  Continue Reading...

A Quick Note From The Publisher... If you like the article above, you may be interested in the following article which is also related to Routers... Always-On Networks Created with a Wireless Router If you're using a wireless network with Windows' built-in Internet Connection Sharing, you're probably quite happy with it -- but there's a problem. The problem is this: the computer the modem is connected to needs to be turned on before any of the other computers can get Internet access! It's alright for a while, but it gets annoying really fast. I had one of these annoying setups at home for years and the moment I upgraded to using a router was like a breath of fresh air. Now my son does not complain every time I need to reboot or do extensive maintenance periods. His machine could not care less weather my machine is active or not. So what should you do about it? Well, a wireless router is the answer to your problem. What is a Wireless Router? A wireless router is basically a small, low-powered computer dedicated to nothing but providing Internet access to your wireless network. Once you've got a wireless router, you can connect any of the computers on...