With international travel now part of everyday life and a transient world population intent on exploring the globe through gap-year travels, emigration and extended holidays, making telephone calls overseas has become a feature of many phone bills. Those calls can be extraordinarily expensive, particularly if you’re calling from or to a mobile phone number. There is an alternative that could save you a considerable amount of money on those calls. VoIP (Voice over IP) is the new, technological answer to cheap international phone calls. All you need is a PC or regular home phone, broadband and a desire to save some money.
The advent of email has completely changed the way people communicate. Rather than having to wait for days or even weeks for a letter to arrive, an email allows you to read almost instantly a message from the other side of the world. VoIP could be considered to be the next step on this road – a ‘verbal email’, if you like. And in the same way that emails are almost free (you still have to pay for the Internet connection, but it means that emails cost a fraction of a penny to send), so VoIP offers you the opportunity to make virtually free phone calls over the Internet. If you sign up to a VoIP provider that offers low-cost monthly call plans, then the limitations placed by the free providers on the duration or number of calls you can make is removed, allowing you to talk for as long as you want and still save money.
The usual system of ‘PC to PC’ VoIP calls enables you to make free international calls, but you are tied to a PC to be able to utilise this service. Both you and the person you are calling will need a computer or laptop, a broadband connection, a headset, microphone and speaker and an account with a VoIP provider. This system is fine for most people, but it does have its limitations. Apart from being tied to the computer, you and your recipient both need to be signed up to compatible providers. Because free VoIP is independent of your traditional landline service, VoIP calls have to be PC to PC calls – you can’t just pick up the phone and dial any number. You can use the service to call other landline or mobiles, but you will be charged by the minute for those calls in the same way as a standard phone call.
(more…)