Free Calls

Anytime... Anywhere!

Calling anywhere in the world for as cheap as 1.7 cents a minute? In my dreams?

In my dreams indeed. But apparently dreams do come true.

Did you know you could actually make a call to Liechtenstein for under $0.06 per minute? Where is Liechtenstein? Far away, but that’s not the point. What you are about to read might change your life forever. It did mine, that’s for sure.

Having all my family and friends back in Europe caused my phone bill to hit the roof every month. Phone bills of $250 per month were no exception. What do you expect with a rate of 35 cents a minute and up?

That was all over when I found out about Internet telephony, or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) as they call it. Now I call all my friends and family for free, and my average monthly phone bill is around $30 each month. An extra $200 to spend each month, now that’s what I call a raise!

So how did I do that and what is VoIP?

Voice over Internet Protocol is literally like making a regular phone call, but over the Internet. VoIP converts your voice signal into data and sends this over the Internet to the receiver, where it’s converted back to voice signal. It’s like sending e-mails back and forth, but very quickly.

There are a couple of different ways to do this and a bunch of different VoIP providers.

The service I use is called Skype. To get Skype, you download and install software on your computer from the Skype website, get yourself a headset with microphone; connect to the Internet, and voilá! You are ready to call the world from your pc.

If you get your friends to download this program too, you can call them on their computer, anywhere in the world, for free. It's kind of like Instant Messenger or MSN Messenger, but using speech, instead of writing.

It’s also possible to make phone calls from your computer to any phone number, almost anywhere in the world. And the best thing about this is, it’s dirt-cheap. You call anywhere in Northern America, Europe or Australia between 1.7 and 3 cents a minute. See how I can save $200 per month using this?

Skype works best for me, since I make a lot of international calls, Skype is the least expensive. One small disadvantage about Skype, is the fact you have to use your computer (or USB-phone connected to your computer) to make calls. This means you are limited in where and how you use it. You have to have your computer with you to be able to make calls.

Not to worry, you have other options. There are a lot of different VoIP providers out there. Search the Web to figure out which is best for you. Make sure that besides Skype, you also have a look at Lingo, Net2Phone and Vonage. When evaluating any service, remember to check out their licensing agreement and privacy policies. Yep, read the fine print.

I happen to know about this company called Vonage. They use a different type of VoIP system.

When you subscribe to Vonage, you receive a special adapter, which plugs into your Internet connection. Plug in a regular phone or your computer and you’re ready to go.

If you sign up for Vonage, you receive a virtual phone number, but it’s even possible to keep your own number, or choose the area code of your liking. And it pretty much provides you with the same services your regular phone company does (voicemail, call waiting, etc.).

Different Subscriptions?

There are a couple of different subscriptions to choose from, and they charge you for that level. But it’s still much cheaper than your regular phone. If you get their basic subscription ($14.95 per month) you get 500 free calling minutes anywhere in the US and Canada, and you call internationally for 3-4 cents a minute.

You can make phone calls through your Vonage account wherever you are, as long as you have your adapter with you and plug it into a working Internet connection. The mover ability is great, but their rates are a little bit higher.

Doesn’t this all sound too good to be true?

I know, I thought the same thing…

But you know what? It’s true, and in my experience with my provider there have been no loopholes.

The first week using VoIP, I expected either the police to turn up and arrest me for illegal phone practices, or to still get a huge phone bill, because I didn’t read the fine print carefully. But none of this happened, VOIP is legal and straightforward. After a couple of months I’m still calling the world, for almost nothing.

But what about people who say you get a lousy connection with Internet phones?

Well, I can tell you; I’ve been using Skype a lot, and the connection is almost (if not always) better than using a regular phone or cell phone. Using a high-speed Internet connection the conversation is crystal clear. And even using an old-fashioned dial-up connection gives me a normal conversation. (Although using the Internet while you make your phone call can cause a little bit of delay).

Generally the companies advise you to have a dial-up modem (33.6 kb or higher) or even higher, like cable, or DSL.

And what about computer requirements? All computer using Windows (2000 or XP), Mac and Linux operating systems should work fine. Mine does.

Are there any dangers or disadvantages using VoIP?

"There are problems, and some of them are going to take a fair amount of time and money to fix," says David Heim, editor of Consumer Reports (in a story from USA Today).

• When the power is off most computers and/or Internet connections will not work, which means you cannot make a phone call.
• Calling 911 is in most cases impossible.
• When your Internet is down it’s kind of hard to make a phone call. You can’t.
• Performance can be a problem when using a slow Internet connection.

Most of the problems mentioned above are easy to fix simply by having a normal landline or cell phone beside your VoIP. You’ll have no problems calling 911, and you can almost always make phone calls, even when the power is off. Having a little bit of patience will do a lot too, if your Internet is down you can wait with expensive international calls until it’s back up.

They say VoIP is not safe to use…

There’s a lot of stories around saying VoIP is not very safe to use because people can easily listen in on your conversation, or worse, put in words without the sender ever knowing about it.

There’s a general warning for companies which says they should be cautious talking about sensitive matter or data. For consumers VoIP is relatively safe. Skype for instance, uses encryption (converting your voice into a secret code) while converting the voice data, which makes it pretty impossible for hackers to get into or change your conversation. Just in case, however, I play it safe by not discussing passwords or financial data over VoIP just like I would not put them in an e-mail.

The Big Picture

When you look at the big picture so far, the biggest advantage of VoIP is the cost. Saving huge amounts on your phone bill using VoIP is not exceptional.

My phone bill dropped by $200 dollars a month, but wouldn't it already be worth it if yours dropped even $50 a month?

After reading all this, I think it’s about time to save you money. Visit Skype, Vonage or one of the other VoIP companies mentioned above. Read their information carefully; pick whichever service is best for you and start saving the big bucks now.

Good luck.

Cheers, Will.