FAQ | Sorting out phone service and DSL to receive VoIP

Philadelphia Inquirer, The, March, 2005 by John J. Fried

Question: I have DSL service from a provider other than my local-phone company. I also want to use Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, phone service as a lower-cost alternative to the local-phone company.

But I cannot get a straight answer from the DSL provider, my phone company, and the VoIP company on whether I can keep DSL service, but cancel my local-phone service. Can I?- donald.hinklebrown@trfund.com

Answer: If your phone-service provider is Qwest, then you can take advantage of its so-called naked DSL service - high-speed Internet service without local-phone service.

According to a Verizon representative, the company hopes to have "some kind of" naked DSL service by the end of the year, though there are no specifics yet on how that service will be rolled out.

If you are not a Qwest customer or cannot wait for Verizon ...