How to save telephone costs with VoIP

Clive Emdon
VOICE OVER Internet Protocol (VoIP), a technology that allows you to make telephone calls using a broadband internet connection instead of a regular (or analog) phone line, is attracting growing interest in the local market. While some services using VoIP may only allow you to call other people using the same service, others may allow you to call anyone who has a telephone number – including local, long distance, mobile, and international numbers. Also, while some services only work over your computer or a special VoIP phone, others allow you to use a traditional phone through an adaptor. A broadband (high speed internet) connection is required either through a cable modem, high speed services such as ADSL, or a local area network. You can hook up an inexpensive microphone to your computer and send your voice through a cable modem or connect a phone directly to a telephone adaptor. Depending upon your service, you may be limited only to other subscribers to the service, or you may be able to call any phone number, anywhere in the world. The call can be made to a local number, a mobile phone, to a long distance number, or an international number. You may even utilise the service to speak to more than one person at a time. And the person you are calling does not need any special equipment, just a phone.