Free VoIP Phone Calls
I've had it with the phone company and their never ending fees. Isn't there a way to make free phone calls over the Internet? I'd appreciate your advice, especially if it will help me drop my landline service for good... |
How To Make Free Phone Calls
VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is a technology that enables telephone conversations over the Internet, bypassing the phone company's landline and cellular networks . Here's how it works, and how to make free phone calls over VOIP.
The sound of your voice, like any other sound, can be encoded in a stream of zeros and ones. These bits of data, like any other bits, can be transmitted over the Internet to a receiver. At the receiver's end, the stream of data is decoded and played over a speaker so the person you're calling hears your voice. In a general sense, VoIP is no different from recording music in an MP3 file and emailing it to someone who can then play it. But voice conversations are two-way and held in real time, so VoIP is a little bit more complex.
A number of protocols have emerged for handling VoIP. The first VoIP protocol, H.323, is still widely used to carry long-distance traffic. Others include Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP), and Session Description Protocol (SDP). Even your familiar landline phone company uses VoIP. But you really don't need to know any of those geeky details.
Most phone calls these days take advantage of VoIP technology, even those calls routed through your good old-fashioned landline. But landline phone calls are provided by your telephone company, which charges old-fashioned rates. So how can you make free VoIP phone calls?
Skype and Other VOIP Services
Skype is one of the oldest and most popular providers of free VoIP phone calls. You need to set up a Skype account, then download and install the Skype VoIP software, which is also free. You also need a microphone into which you can speak and speakers through which you can hear, or a headset that plugs into your computer. Then you can call another Skype user without paying anything. You can't call landlines or cell phones using the free Skype, but you can add this capability for as little as $4.95 per month.
There are a lot of Skype imitators online: iCall.com, VoIPBuster.com, VoIPCheap.com, etc. All offer free VoIP phone calls to limited audiences, and expanded services for a monthly fee. Some support SMS messages, instant messaging, and even videoconferencing. (So does Skype, in its premium paid plans.)
Google Talk is totally free (through the end of 2011) for calls to any kind of phone in the U. S. or Canada. Other international calls can be made for modest fees. You need to sign up for a Google account and install the free Google Talk software. Then you can dial any phone number from your Google Mail inbox Web page. However, you need to give Google a working landline or cell phone number to activate the Google Talk feature.
Free VoIP phone calls are a bit of a hassle compared to the ease of pushbutton smartphone calling. But free VoIP phone calls can save a ton of money on long-distance and international phone conversations. Many import-export businesses rely heavily on Skype and other free VoIP phone call services. For ordinary consumers, free VoIP phone calls are a great option to have in case your cell phone's battery dies and you can't find one of rapidly-vanishing payphones.
Do you have something to say about free VOIP calling? Post your comment or question below...
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Posted by Bob Rankin on 19 Apr 2011
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Article information: AskBobRankin -- Free VoIP Phone Calls (Posted: 19 Apr 2011)
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Copyright © 2005 - Bob Rankin - All Rights Reserved
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Most recent comments on "Free VoIP Phone Calls"
Posted by:
Lee McIntyre
19 Apr 2011
VoIP has its advantages, but there are disadvantages too.
1. 9-1-1 service is either extremely limited or non-existent. In any case, a 9-1-1 operator will NOT have a readout of your address, as he/she would if you were calling from a land line.
2. You can't use the phone and walk around freely, as you can with a cordless land line or cell phone. Unless you add the cost of a wireless computer mic/headset, you're stuck at your computer location.
3. If your land line and Internet service are bundled through your phone company, the increased cost of stand-alone Internet will offset some (though by no means all) of your savings.
Posted by:
Garrett
19 Apr 2011
Costco sells a product called OOMLA also that offers free voip phone calls? it cost I believe $189 for the router and program and then the service is free or you can upgrade to more features for about $10 per month.
Posted by:
Greg Lewis
19 Apr 2011
There has not been a bigger sham foisted on the public than VoIP service. It is not reliable, it is fraught with security issues and when all is said and done it is not worth the so called savings over POTS service. The only ones who can really benefit are the customers with big DS3 pipes and very expensive SBC's & firewalls made for Voip. A pox on all VoIP!
Posted by:
Bill
19 Apr 2011
One of the uses of land lines is with Home Security services. It seems that the only way to be connected to your Home Security provider is with a land line or a Cellular line. Is there a way to use some other service like VOIP and still be connected to your Home Security provider?
Posted by:
Jim
19 Apr 2011
I use my local phone company for DSL internet service. Can I get rid of my phone line, and still use the phone company internet?
Posted by:
H. Bayley
19 Apr 2011
Google Talk is terrific. Being able to call long distance to friends for free, at their landline phones, is really neat. However, completely dumping one's local phone service has the downside of making it impossible for you to contact 911 when an emergency arises.
Posted by:
Bruce Houghton
20 Apr 2011
Canada has a unique VOIP system backed by Labatt's brewery, (www.freephoneline.ca). For $99. they will provide an ATA (analog telephone adapter) and a telephone number in a major Canadian city. A one time charge. No more monthly phone bills for calls to most Canadian centers. The ATA plugs into your modem, any phone plugs into the ATA, so once set up, your computer doesn't have to be on to make and receive calls. Free calls to most major Canadian cities. Calls to other Canadian towns and USA locations at $0.02/minute. You have a phone number that others can call, similar to Magic Jack, but bypassing the computer.