On Thu, 14 Sep 2006 09:08:32 -0400, Harry Krause
wrote:

For "telephone" use, at $39.95 a month, my Verizon cell phone provides
me with a strong, reliable signal just about everywhere I've been out on
Chesapeake Bay.

Agreed, but there are still many areas of the east coast with lousy or
non-existent cell phone service but happen to have good WiFi access,
typically provided by a marina or local business. Those are the areas
where one of the VOIP flavors makes a lot of sense. Where VOIP really
comes into its own is in the Bahamas where cell service is an
expensive government monopoly, and incompatible with most US phones.
WiFi is readily available however, either free or at a reasonable
price.