[jime]

Bama -

I do indeed have Embarq for landline telephone service; I have had no problems with it either north of 466 where I first lived (Polo Ridge) or south of 466 where I now live (Belvedere).

Copper lines are still good current technology; it is the condition of the copper lines combined with what electronics they are connected to enroute back to the central office that mainly determines the quality of service that you will have. As the wiring and equipment installed in The Villages is new, I wouldn't expect problems. Fiber to the Curb is the newest technology, but is not often installed as yet (to my knowledge) due to cost.

I know several people that use VoIP via their ISP and are relatively happy with the service; however, as I mentioned earlier, landline or cellular service is more reliable which is why I chose not to use Vonage or any other ISP based service. As for the DSL service, I know of no reason why one service provider (ATT or Embarq) woud be any better; they are all using similar equipment back at the central office. There are different levels (speeds) of DSL service that you can obtain, with faster speeds being more expensive. I don't know that any of the DSL offerings are as fast as a Comcast cable modem, but the difference may not be important to you.

I am considering dropping Embarq landline service and using my cell phone at home; this would be just a cost saving change, not because of any problems I have encountered with Embarq.