From caller ID and call waiting to being able to access your call history and listen to your voicemail messages online, digital telephone gives you all the features you are used to having, and some exciting new ones. The list of these new, advanced features is sure to grow as the technology continues to evolve. Unlike some traditional phone companies, some digital telephone services provide commonly used calling features at no additional cost and let you use these features all you want. We've compiled a list of some of the things that truly set digital phone service apart.

Unlimited Calling — Don't worry about tracking your minutes; you can talk all you want -- for one low monthly price for the areas designated by the digital telephone service.

Unlimited Feature Use — Forget the term "per use fee". You can use these features all you want.

Great International Rates — Need to reach your cousin in Italy? No problem. The rates are frequently lower than you'd find with traditional phone service and may not include an International plan fee that some other telephone companies may charge.

Easy-to-Understand Billing — Traditional phone company bills have become very confusing -- there seem to be fees and surcharges everywhere. Digital phone provider bills tend to be much clearer to understand with few, if any, additional fees and surcharges beyond the flat monthly rate advertised.

Call Waiting: After all, some calls are more important than others. Call Waiting alerts you that someone is calling while you are on the phone so you can decide whether or not to take the second call.

Voicemail: Run those errands if you want to - your important messages will be waiting for you when you return. Voicemail gives you all the features of an answering machine with the added convenience of checking your messages remotely, usually by calling in to a special phone number and sometimes also by logging on to a Web site. And unlike an answering machine, Voicemail takes a message when you're on another call and/or choose not to answer call waiting.

Caller ID: Don't really want to speak to Aunt Edna for a half-hour? Rely on Caller ID to show you the name and number of who's calling - before you answer the phone!

Caller ID Blocking (*67): Want to make a call without your name and number showing up on the other end? Caller ID Blocking can block your name and number so the receiver party sees "Private" or something similar on their Caller ID display.

Call Return (*69): You hear the phone ringing from the front door, run into the house and miss the call. No problem. Call Return tells you the last number to call your line, and can automatically dial the number for you.

Three-Way Calling: The more the merrier. Get the entire family in on the call. Three-Way Calling lets you add a third party to your conversation.

Call Forwarding: Expecting an important phone call at home but you have to be somewhere else? Call Forwarding will re-direct your incoming calls to a forwarding number, like a cell phone, so you won't miss any calls while you're out.

Enhanced 911: Enhanced 911 service provides your name, address and phone number automatically to the emergency dispatcher when you call 911. This is especially important in an emergency situation when you are unable to speak. There are other important differences between standard 911 service and Enhanced 911 service. Most traditional phone companies and some Digital Phone providers, including Cablevision's Optimum Voice, offer Enhanced 911 service.

Enhanced Voicemail: It has all the basics you would expect of an answering machine with so much more. Sure, you can listen to messages by phone, create personal greetings, and access your mailbox from any location by dialing an "access phone number". But it will also take a message while you're on the phone or when you don't answer your call waiting. And there's more: you can use the Web to listen to your voicemail - the actual voicemail; you can receive voicemail messages as attachments to your e-mail inbox; you can receive text alerts of messages to your cell phone or pager, (including the caller's phone number and the time the message was left). Enhanced Voicemail is an answering machine for the new millennium.

Caller ID on TV: Now you can see who's calling right on your television. All of the standard Caller ID information will appear on your television screen as well as your phone - so you won't have to miss a second of your favorite show!