When it comes to telecommunications, the phone is highly unlikely to be replaced in the home office anytime soon. However, the options available in this market are increasing rapidly.

Regular landlines are still popular. Chances are you will be required to organise line rental and a phone number when you install your internet connection. It's a good idea to go for this option as it will ensure that clients are able to get in touch straight away. But when you come to make a decision, bear in mind that the market is significantly more diverse these days; BT is no longer the only company offering line rental and it is really worth looking round.

Once you've found a price and a service that you're happy with, consider the extras available with the landline package. Things like caller identification and voice mail can be particularly useful if you work from home and your landline will be used for both business and social calls.

A landline number is a sensible place to start to ensure that clients have a straightforward and direct way of contacting you. But once you have set a home office that you're happy with, there are a number of other telecommunications options worth looking into that could save you money. Offering a range of contact options will also increase the likelihood that people will be able to get in touch with you when they want.

Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, is one possibility. The service is an alternative to a regular landline and makes use of a broadband connection to allow you to make calls using your internet connection.

This can be significantly cheaper than a landline, especially if you need to contact clients overseas on a regular basis. You can choose to purchase phones specifically designed to function with VoIP technology, or you can opt to use a headset with your computer. VoIP will also allow you to communicate with people using a webcam as well, something which certain clients and colleagues might find useful, especially if you are looking to hold conference calls.

Of course, email is also going to be important when it comes to keeping in touch with your client base. But there are so many free options nowadays that you needn't fork out a lot of money for an email program. An online service, such as Gmail, might even be more convenient if you need to access your messages from another computer while you're travelling, for example.

You might even want to consider publicising some other online contact options, such as Twitter and Facebook, just to make it as easy as possible for someone to make contact with you. But these are all things that can be explored at later stages. Upon initial establishment of a home office, a landline and broadband connection are the main essentials.

There is one obvious means of communication that we haven't covered here: Mobile phones. If you're out of the office a lot and want to be sure that you don't miss a call, check out the range of choices on offer in the mobile arena here.