The Lancaster County Board and the city of Lincoln are ditching their traditional phone service in favor of an Internet-based system that will collectively save them more than $600,000 per year.

The county board agreed Tuesday to enter into a package deal with the city to install and use Voice Over Internet Protocol, a phone system that uses Ethernet cables and an Internet network to connect parties.

County budget director Dennis Meyer says the initial investment for new phones for the county is $800,000 and $1.1 million for the city, but the payments would be spread over four years and have no budget impact.

Two governments currently spend $941,000 per year on more than 2,600 phone lines.