Making voice calls and sending faxes over the internet are significantly cheaper than doing so over traditional phone lines. There is no loss of functionality as call forwarding, call conferencing, and other features may still be included in VoIP subscription plans. The Analog Telephone Adapter allows the user to immediately take advantage of the lesser costs involved in making calls over the internet. It also eliminates the need to get rid of existing phones and replace them with IP specialized phones. Moreover, ATAs are also generally cheaper than specialized digital VoIP phones which are capable of direct USB port or Ethernet gateway connectivity.