As a freshly minted home worker, I needed a new business line. My problem with finding a VoIP provider was that I didn't want to plug any more gadgets into my already-crowded power strips nor did I want to pay through the nose for a new service. Oh, and POTS was out of the question.

Luckily, Skype came to my rescue. First, though, a little background.

I now work primarily from home. It's not unusual in our organization; a lot of folks do it across several states and a handful of countries. I'm sure this has helped, in part, to attract and retain our vast and deep reservoir of skill and talent.

I'll be honest: I won't miss the commute, but I do miss my Herman Miller chair and the treasured 212 area code number that I had for ages. As of Friday, my backside was firmly affixed to an unpronounceable, if serviceable Ikea something or other, but I was still without a business line.

The first instinct was to buy a fancy handset and spring for Vonage or ooma's provocative device/service. After spending considerable time researching my options, it occurred to me that adding a new router or VoIP appliance, in addition to powering another phone, was hardly a green way to go about my telecommunications needs.

So I pared down my requirements to the bare necessities. These were making and receiving phone calls, voicemail, and conference calling. I already keep my work machine, a bulletproof ThinkPad running XP SP2, powered up for most of the day and my broadband connection via Comcast is fairly reliable, so why not let software do the grunt work?

I then heeded the advice of a fellow home worker (thanks Alex!) and tried Skype's service. In short, I'm glad I did.

Combined, Skype Pro (voicemail, extra features) and SkypeIn (phone number) cost me just $6 a month. And you know what? For the price I'm very pleased, ecstatic even.

Once you sign up for Pro, you can grab a SkypeIn number, apparently for some huge savings. All I know is that it's costing me $3 a month for the phone number. Unsurprisingly, there are no 212 numbers available, but you can conduct a search for a desired sequence. Just don't expect to land your dream combination of digits. Nonetheless, with some creativity and a little time, you can find an easy enough to remember phone number.

From there, you have tons of options at your disposal. I have yet to figure out how to have my new number display on the recipient's caller ID, but I'm working on it. Otherwise, I recorded a new greeting; set voicemail parameters; let the software handle mic volume levels (OK so far); and tweaked my privacy and marketing settings.

Voice Quality and Features

Of the handful of calls I've made and received, the voice quality remained acceptable, though notably compressed over a cheapy GE headset I bought at Target. Voices are loud and clear, not muddled. Just don't expect to catch every nuance or subtle inflection in a person's voice. Not a deal breaker, since most of the calls I'm on don't require superb voice quality, but it may be for others. Your mileage may vary, of course. The quality of your broadband connection and whether your ISP *tinkers* with packets come into play. So far, things are OK for me.

I'm not a big on video conferencing, so I'm skipping that functionality.

There are some downsides.

The software's user-friendly (version 3.6.0.248) nature gets in the way sometimes. For instance, I have a habit of saving after each configuration change. Skype helpfully closes the window assuming you performed all the changes you were planning. I can hit my own X button, thank you very much.

The default ringtone selection is tiny but you can import your own. Or you can follow the built-in link to the pay site. I'm not a fan of ringtones in general, but folks that like to assign custom sounds may want to pay attention to these options.

Also, forget about any quality of service (QoS) options. You'll need to do some research and hit your router's admin pages to tweak those settings. That's my next project.

So far, my experience has been a good one. The software is easy to operate and stable. The latter is a HUGE consideration for me. I can deal with complexity, but I can't deal with flaky software that craps out on a whim.

I run a fairly tight ship on my end security-wise, but I have some security concerns. It's doubtful that I can stop anyone determined enough to pluck those packets en route, just look at the whole FISA brouhaha. Still, it's something I'll be keeping an eye out...

What you'll need is a reasonably modern Windows, Mac or Linux system (3-4 year old ThinkPad T41 here), a reliable DSL/Cable/FIOS connection, a headset or decent built-in mic and speakers and a minimum of $6 per month.

In short, if you're looking for a lean, green and cheap way of getting phone service without an armload of new gadgets to drive up your electric bill, Skype fits the bill.

What's been your experience? Can you recommend other services? Shout out in the comments.