subject: All you need is VOIP [print this page] VoIP finally took off in 2000VoIP finally took off in 2000. It has become a mainstream alternative to standard telephone service since then. The growing acceptance of VoIP in both business and residential phone use is evidential in the phenomenal success of Vonage, a major player in VoIP market today. Vonage offered VoIP service to business communities in 2001 and signed its first residential customer in 2002. Year 2003 was marked by the first platform for 911 calls on VoIP software. Between 2004 to 2005, Vonage launched VoIP service in Canada, Puerto Rico, United Kingdom and other European countries. Vonage phone service charges a monthly service fee, and calls (local, long distance or international) are technical free or unlimited. With more than one million subscribers this year, Vonage continues to offer new services and plans to meet the needs of both business and residential markets. Some small businesses have started to take the advantage of the flat fee of VoIP plans. They now have an alternative to 1-800 numbers to interact with their customers.