There are four major phone companies in the U.S. that were facing competition because of all the new, innovative phone services popping up out there. The four majors are Verizon, BellSouth, SBC and Qwest. And for the past few years, they have had to fight for your business because of competition. But now, they have no need to care anymore about that competition. A court ruling in Washington, D.C. has made traditional phone service a monopoly again. The good news is that you don’t have to use traditional phone service anymore, thanks to Internet phone service or VOIP (voice over Internet phone). Clark has been using one of these services for the past few years and it has worked great. In fact, he went to Canada two weeks ago and he took the system with him. He plugged it into the hotel’s Internet service and, immediately he was hooked up to his home phone service. Better yet, more of them are on the way. One company - SunRocket.com is now offering unlimited flat rate calling for $200 a year. You pay the fee upfront and you’re able to make all the calls you want for an entire year. There is no need for traditional long distance or local service. It’s available in 50 cities around the country right now, and that number is growing. Another company – RNKTel - is offering the same unlimited plan for your entire life. For $1,000, you get unlimited phone service under the “Phone For Life” program. Read more about it here. It’s available right now in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and New York. The problem with these offers is that these companies could go under at any time. If and when that happens, you’re out of luck. There is some risk involved with any new technology, especially regarding telephones. But it could work out great.