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https://www.callcentric.com/features/

I can't wait until my phone has a captcha. "To make this phone ring, please type in the answer to this question: Which Star Trek movie is the best?"

Nope, close though.

With our Telemarketer Block, inbound callers will hear an automated message which will require them to press a specific key (1-9) in order for your phone to ring.

What do the Spam Call Filter categories indicate? (Low, Medium, High.)

Spam vs Telemarketer Block

I can't wait until my phone has a captcha. "To make this phone ring, please type in the answer to this question: Which Star Trek movie is the best?"

Nope, close though.

With our Telemarketer Block, inbound callers will hear an automated message which will require them to press a specific key (1-9) in order for your phone to ring.

What do the Spam Call Filter categories indicate? (Low, Medium, High.)

Spam vs Telemarketer Block

Too expensive... https://www.callcentric.com/ and others are still cheaper by a significant margin...

I've had luck with Callcentric. They support plenty of devices and softphones.

I've had luck with Callcentric. They support plenty of devices and softphones.

You could get a VoIP line for the house; this is what I've done for situations like that.

An "ATA" -- basically an Ethernet to analog telephone adapter -- will run you less than $50 and it's a one-time expense. I recommend the Linksys PAP2T-NA (just make sure you get the "NA" version and not one of the ones that's locked to Vonage, etc.).

Then you just plug in any old analog phone you want, corded or cordless, and configure the box to point to the VoIP provider of your choice. I use Callcentric; they'll give you an incoming number in your choice of most area codes for a few dollars a month, unlimited minutes, and outgoing calls are about $0.02USD on a pay-per-use plan.

It's significantly cheaper than even the base rate for real POTS service where I live, plus there's no long distance "surprises," you can move it from place to place with you if you want, free voicemail, incoming fax, etc. They provide (mandatory) E911 service if you live in the U.S., also.

The only real downside is that it obviously won't work if your broadband service goes out, which is a good argument for putting your broadband modem, router, and the ATA on a UPS.

Once you absorb the up-front cost of the ATA, the running costs for me were less than bumping my cell phone up to a plan with more minutes, which was the alternative I'd been considering. Plus, since getting it, I've realized that I really liked having a "house phone" in addition to individual cellphones. I just don't like paying $15 a month for it.

I looked at Vonage and decided it's still not that great of a deal. I use CallCentric myself. Two cents a minute and you only pay for what you use. They support SIP as well. The best part is, if you want to cancel, you don't have to talk to a customer retention specialist to do it.