How to Make Free International Calls From Your Computer

Tips: Now that's not a bad list. The catch, a minor one, is that international calls for trial users are limited to one minute.

Did you know that it's possible to make free international calls from your computer? That's right - as long as you have an internet connection and the right hardware on your computer, it is really easy to make totally free international long distance calls.

You can now talk to your friends and relatives overseas for free using some simple software available on the internet. You should have a broadband internet connection for the best call quality, but it is possible to make calls over a dial up connection.

Here's how to make free international calls over the internet:

• First of all, make sure your computer has a sound card with a speaker and microphone jack.

Tips: Finally do your research find a provider that is suitable to your needs don't compromise on quality or you may be disappointed, and start saving on all your calls.

Look at the back of your PC and see where your speakers are connected; this is your sound card. A sound card usually has three small "holes" that are usually color coded light blue, light green and/or light pink. If you look carefully you might see symbols next to each hole indicating a microphone and speakers. Most computers that are under 5 years old will have a sound card.

• If you have speakers connected, purchase a computer microphone and connect it to the microphone jack on your sound card.

If you don't have speakers, or want to have better sound quality, purchase a computer headset with microphone and connect it to the appropriate jacks on your sound card.

Tips: VoiPStunt Free International Calls to a Range of Countries At the time of writing, VoiPStunt were providing free software which allows free calls between peers.

• Download free internet phone software from the VoIP provider of your choice. VoIP stands for "Voice Over Internet Protocol", which is the method for making phone calls over the internet.

Popular VoIP internet phone service providers are Skype, Gizmo, Net2Phone and WebPhone. It doesn't matter which one you use - the important thing is that everyone you talk with uses the same VoIP provider.

• Install the software and register for a free account. Remember the user name you choose, as this is how the people you call will know you.

• Start the software and follow the instructions to configure your equipment and make a free test call to make sure everything is set up correctly.

• When your equipment and software is set up and the test call is fine, email your friends and family and ask them to do the same thing you did - get a headset or microphone and speakers, go to the VoIP provider's website to download and install the software, set up a free account and make a test call.

Tips: We show you how You CAN make cheap international calls and lower your phone bills through the use of cheap prepaid phone cards, call back services, cheap international Phone Cards, dial-arounds, VoIP, Internet calling and more...

• Share your VoIP internet phone service user name with everyone you want to make calls with. Everyone should enter each other's user names into the VoIP software's "contacts" list. This is how you will "dial" and connect with your international friends and family.

• Email your friends and/or family and decide on a time to talk. Make sure both parties are online, and that everyone has their internet phone service software running.

• Make your international call by clicking on the person's user name within your contact list and then clicking the "dial" icon within the program. You will hear a ringing sound on your side, and the other party will hear the ringing also. They may also see a message on their computer screen telling them that you are trying to call.

Tips: VoIP services are improving at an alarming rate, quality of sound is now on par with land lines, it is now possible to use your regular phone in conjunction with your Voip service

• When the person you are calling clicks on the "answer" icon on his/her internet phone service software, you will be connected. You can then talk to each other over the internet for free.

• When done talking, simply click the "hang up" icon on the VoIP software.

This type of VoIP internet phone service is called "softphone" because it requires a computer and software to make phone calls over the internet. Calls between users of the same VoIP service provider (i.e. Skype, Net2Phone, Gizmo, etc…) are always free, so it's easy to keep in touch with international friends and relatives. If desired, you can hook up an inexpensive webcam and make free international video phone calls too!

Tips: These are now digital signals (against the analog signals from your regular telephone lines) that your phone will be converting into a much clearer and better voice reproduction quality.

If you are interested in learning more about how to make free international calls with VoIP, visit Debbie's page on VoIP Softphone Service - Free VoIP

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VoIP and Local Telephone Companies

History 1888 � Common battery system developed by Hammond V. Hayes, allows one central battery to power all telephones on an exchange, rather than relying on each units own battery.

With VoIP technology entering the mainstream, it brings the possibilities or huge profits for the companies that provide the service. The current promise of cost savings is driving more and more residential and business users to investigate this technology. But the local telephone companies are not going to give up customers without a fight.

There is a current mandate by the US federal government that all VoIP providers offer E911 service. The initial blocking of this information was with the public switched telephone network maintained by the major telephone companies.

History 1876 � Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone, beating Elisha Gray by a matter of hours.

The next stumbling block is ‘naked DSL' or DSL access without local phone service. This service is rare, but without it a residence would not be able to use VoIP as their primary phone service mechanism. You see, DSL is running over your existing phone line provided by your local telephone company. Drop your local phone service and you'll probably drop your broadband DSL access as well. (Cable broadband access is a viable solution here and the increased cost in cable access should be offset by the reduction on your monthly phone bill)

History 1955 � Saw the beginning of the laying of transatlantic telephone cables.

These are just two fronts in the battle over VoIP. Should companies be compensated for the infrastructures they build? Should E911 service be ‘free' and offered as a public service? What about the existing phone service run into our homes? Who pays for those lines to be laid and hooked into the public switched telephone network?

There really are no easy answers to the questions above. The phone companies are not about to give up customers without a fight. They have years and billions of dollars spent in building one of the most reliable communications networks ‘currently' known to us.

Is VoIP the next step in the evolving communications industry? How will this play out with phone companies offering internet and TV services and cable providers offering phone and internet service? The line is being blurred and yet the technology pushes forward.

History 1911 � American Telephone and Telegraph (AT & T) acquire the Western Union Telegraph Company in a hostile takeover. They purchased stocks in the company covertly and the two eventually merged.

I don't have the answers, only questions. I know how I'd like to see it all play out, but alas, there is no Nirvana and no, it would seem we all cannot get along. Not when there's literally billions of dollars at stake. There will be winners and losers as this war rages on, but it is my hope that we, the end users, will, in the end, be better for it. After all, we've been down this path many times before and it's turned out ok.

Remember the advent of the PC and where we've gone since then? Remember the first bulky cellular phones vs. what's available today? Yes, TV's, radios, computers, phones the list goes on. Technology advances will continue to push us into new directions. I'm sure that in the end, VoIP will be as commonplace as the home computer.

History 1946 � Worlds first commercial mobile phone service put into operation. It could link moving vehicles to a telephone network via radio waves.

We can leverage this technology today in a cost effective manner. Like any technology how you implement VoIP will make the difference. Whether you're a residential or business user, there can be an immediate benefit. Check with your communications broker to find out if your existing phone needs can be met cost effectively with VoIP.

History 1900 � First coin operated telephone installed in Hartford, Connecticut.

http://www.fullservice-broadband-provider.com

The Full service broadband provider is a service offered by Try Right Technology, Inc. This service provides unbiased informative information on broadband technology as well as local/long distance and cellular service. Copyright 2005

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VegaStream - Connecting VoIP to Existing Telephone Systems

History 1888 � Common battery system developed by Hammond V. Hayes, allows one central battery to power all telephones on an exchange, rather than relying on each units own battery.

A misconception because after all, VoIP and Internet Telephony use a completely different signalling system to traditional telephony. Therefore a different device must be required to convert those signals into the sounds that make up a telephone conversation. However, it is now possible to install a device; a VoIP gateway between the IP network and existing phone systems that converts the signalling from one to the other.

The VoIP gateway has two distinct roles. The first is to convert the signal so that a person using an IP device can talk to one on a traditional TDM device and vice versa. The second role is to manage the network signalling and routing.

History 1936 � Research into electronic telephone exchanges began and was eventually perfected in the 1960's with the electronic switching system (SES).

For example, all IP devices, including phones, have an IP address while traditional telephones, even extensions on a company phone system, have their traditional telephone number. If a company has connected its traditional telephone system to an IP network, then incoming calls from the IP network will be looking for an IP address. The gateway's job is to recognise the traditional telephone to which that IP address has been allocated and route the call accordingly.

History 1874 � Principal of the telephone was uncovered.

This is just one simple example. Professional-class VoIP gateways, will translate all the sophisticated functions that have been developed in the traditional phone systems such as call forwarding and conferencing.

The better VoIP gateways also feature "pass through". This function recognises the fact that for all its functional advantages and ability to save money, IP telephony is susceptible to catastrophic failure. For example, IP telephony requires a discrete power source, unlike the phones that will keep working even when the lights are turned off. For emergencies, therefore, an enterprise will want to keep at least one phone in each premise attached to the public switched telephone network (PSTN). For example with VegaStream's "pass through" this phone is connected the IP network until that network fails at which time it automatically connects to the PSTN.

History 1900 � First coin operated telephone installed in Hartford, Connecticut.

The Benefits

Cost

With a VoIP gateway, a company can make telephone calls between sites at no cost using the IP data wide area network that it has installed to connects its computer systems. It can also use a gateway to connect its existing telephone systems to an Internet Telephony Service Provider (ITSP). ITSP's use the Internet to radically reduce customers' telephone bills. In both scenarios, employees would use their telephones as normal. There is no training costs, just a significant reduction in the phone bill.

History 1876 � Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone, beating Elisha Gray by a matter of hours.

Flexibility

Enterprises are beginning to recognise the advantages of a fully converged communications solution. This is where all electronic communications - voice, data, video, instant messaging and email - all pass over a single network. This technology allows for highly efficient and content rich collaboration and interaction and is becoming the de facto standard in customer facing contact centres.

However, while there may be a strong business case for converged communications in the contact centre, the same may not be said for the broader organisation where the significant costs of the existing telephone system may yet to be written off. In these scenarios, the VoIP gateway will provide the solution for a company that wants to make a partial, and gradual, commitment to new converged technology, for example the company can mix and match traditional and IP telephone systems yet all use the telephones as usual.

History 1946 � Worlds first commercial mobile phone service put into operation. It could link moving vehicles to a telephone network via radio waves.

The VoIP gateway is the essential bridge between today's telephone system and the future of converged communications.

Formed in 1998, VegaStream is one of the most experienced players in the industrial VoIP market. The company supplies gateway CPE to both traditional telecommunications carriers and the new generation of Internet telephony service providers. VegaStream also serves the enterprise market through a global network of distributors and resellers supported by regional offices in the UK, USA and Australia. VegaStream is a non-listed UK company. Investors include the management team, Pace Micro Technology PLC and MTI Partners.

http://www.vegastream.com

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Net Telephone Services In Trouble - 911 FCC Rules Upheld

History 1936 � Research into electronic telephone exchanges began and was eventually perfected in the 1960's with the electronic switching system (SES).

Net telephone service providers are facing a huge problem. A court has upheld FCC regulations requiring the voice over internet protocol providers to provide 911 services.

911 Rules

As you know, traditional telephone companies provide 911 call services to customers. Under long established laws, the traditional telephone companies are required to automatically route such calls to a geographically appropriate area and deliver the originating phone number and address of the call. Net telephone services haven't done this in the past as the technical reading of the regulations didn't require them to. Now the regulations do and it is causing problems.

History 1877 � The very first permanent outdoor telephone wire was completed. It stretched a distance of just three miles.

VOIP net telephone services are having severe difficulty complying with the FCC regulations. The calls are not routed through a traditional telephone line structure, which makes it very hard to determine the original calling number and address. On top of this, it is extraordinarily difficult to route the calls to the appropriate geographic emergency phone call center. Throw in politics and you have a boondoggle in the making.

History 1874 � Principal of the telephone was uncovered.

911 In A Digital Age

In many cases, government agencies fail to appreciate the complexities of the Internet and digital technology. They have a habit of issuing rules and regulations that are either antiquated or impossible to implement. The FCC and FTC are famous for doing so, particularly since the agencies seem to have the technical sophistication of dinosaur. On the issue of 911 rules for net telephone services, however, the FCC has acted appropriately.

History 1876 � Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone, beating Elisha Gray by a matter of hours.

911 is a critical service that must be made available to the public. It performs a service that is both needed and necessary. As the net telephone services seek bigger shares of the commercial market, they must also assume larger responsibility for the services they provide. This is particularly true for 911 services.

History 1955 � Saw the beginning of the laying of transatlantic telephone cables.

911 emergency call centers help save lives. In health risk situations, time is almost always a critical component in the outcome. Given as much, the FCC has acted appropriately in requiring net telephone services to provide 911 services to customers.

Richard A. Chapo is a San Diego business lawyer with http://www.sandiegobusinesslawfirm.com - a San Diego business law firm in San Diego, California.

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