VOIP for our International Members

I have heard a few comments about the expense of long distance calls or international calls from some of the members of this forum. I have been a VOIP ( Voice Over IP ) subscriber for two years now and absolutely love it. There are quite a few of my friends that have children in the Armed Forces or loved ones working overseas that have High Speed internet access and have bought two accounts so that one can be brought abroad to make calls. I travel to Canada quite often and always bring mine and people call me and I answer as normal and they can not believe I am in another country recieving and making calls just like I am at home. I just wanted to share this information as this is truly a global community here on this forum and there may be some here that could take advantage of this technology. I certainly do not claim to be an expert on the technology or the legality of it in other countries but I have two good friends that live in Finland and India and talk to them all the time for free with no problem at all. Just throwing this out there to see if there are any other VOIP users or any members needing info on getting started.

I use VoIP a lot and videoconferencing, which is even better when you can see the other person talking to you. Too bad that not all countries have affordable broadband.

I once had a totally free long distance internet phone it was called PHP323 or something like that. I now use PC phone and videochat.

AlexGT

AlexGT, you are absolutely correct, there are some amazing video conferencing tools out there as well. I just want to make this as simple as possible for new people to use that may not want to tie up a computer or install programs. This new VOIP technology does not require ANY of that. All you need is a broadband connection and a router, the router may be wired or wireless. The VOIP telephone adapter plugs into you router and then you plug ANY regular phone, corded or cordless, into the VOIP telephone adapter, AND THATS IT!!! There is no software to install, your computer does not even need to be on. The phone you have just connected now works JUST like a regular land line phone. You pick it up and get a dial tone to make calls, and just pick it up when it rings to receive calls, even enhanced 911 works on most providers systems. The cost for this varies anywhere from $10 to $35 per month. I find absolutely no difference between the $10/mo providers and the $35/mo providers. The biggest difference is your BB conection. If you have a poor broadband connection than your VOIP will work poorly, good connection and it will sound MUCH better than your POTS line. ( Plain Old Telephone Service ). The beauty is the long distance charges, plans vary, but if you spend more than $10/mo on long distance you are going to save money. International calls are either free or extremely cheap. WARNING: Once you buy VOIP you will be hooked!!!