Guide to Free Internet Calls

With Google Talk’s launch and Skype offering more features, the Guardian has written an internet phone Q&A.

Surely phone calls can’t be free?

Well, not entirely. Callers need to pay for a broadband internet connection. Beyond that, though, calls to other Skype or Google Talk users are free. Think of it like email: you can email as much as you like for nothing as long as you pay for the internet connection. VoIP is the same: you can chat as much as you like as long as you have broadband. And as with email it doesn’t matter where in the world the person you are contacting is based.

So what do I need to make calls over the internet?

You need a computer, a broadband connection and, if you don’t have speakers and a microphone, or want to avoid the feeling that you are talking to your computer, a specially adapted headset or telephone.

But what if the person I am calling is not on the system?

You can still call landlines or mobile phones, but you will pay for the calls as you do now.

Q&A: free internet calls

Die Dulci Fruere