Voice Calls over the Internet : The Options
This article aims to explain the options for making phonecalls over the Internet that are available today to home users and small businesses in the UK . More details about some of the services and software mentioned are available in our hardware reviews, software reviews, and VoIP service providers sections.

Proprietary Systems
If you simply want to use the internet to talk to someone and you want the minimum of complication on a Windows or Mac system, the simplest option is use one a proprietary messaging system such as MSN Messenger , Yahoo Messenger, Netmeeting AIM's Voice Chat or SkyPe.

All these services offer free software and connectivity. They use their own proprietary systems to allow you to make voice calls to other people using the same service.

The software's designed for naive users, so it's a doddle to set up, and voice quality is acceptable.

But the big downside is that you can only speak to users of the same service. And finding a service of this kind that supports Linux, Unix or RiscOS can be tricky (some don't even support the Mac.)

(Please let us know if you know of services for other OS's).

SIP - telephony with standards
True VoIP services such as Free World Dialup from Pulver take the idea of phone calls over the Internet forward another step. Because you use an Internet standard protocol, SIP, to make the call, the system is a lot more flexible.

You can use a Windows/Mac software phone (a piece of software that pulls together a microphone, soundcard and internet connection to simulate a telephone. ). Xten lite is a popular freeware system - but other clients are available for many operating systems. If the service suits you, you can add a telephone adaptor that will let you connect an ordinary telephone directly to your network, or an IP phone.

Free VoIP services offering SIP connections are still completely tied to the Internet. They're fine if you are calling someone else with a VoIP telephone or softphone, but no good at all for calling your aunty Joan. With an internet-only SIP service, you won't be getting rid of your landline any time soon, though using your SIP phone to call other VoIP users could cut your call costs.

Calls to 'Real' Telephones
VoIP in the UK is now becoming a viable option for home users and small businesses, not just organisations have teams of engineers on call. Until recently there was no way a small business or home user could consider completely replacing their telephone with a VoIP phone.

But VoIP services that interface with the PSTN phone network to allow you to make and receive phonecalls from anyone with a telephone have started to make that a real alternative. If ITSPAget their way, we will even be able to use ‘real' geographical phone numbers for the calls. Some services offer this in a limited way now - www.gradwell.com is one.

Perhaps the most heavily marketed service for UK home and small business users at the moment is BT Broadband Voice, which comes complete with a phone adaptor. But there are similar services available, including Sipcall (SIP is the protocol most commonly used for VoIP calls). More VoIP providers are listed here.

You may also have seen the ads for the Cisco enterprise-level solutions - these fall outside the remit of this brief intro, but Cisco are also among the market leaders in producing VoIP phone adaptors and IP phones.

Charges vary from per-minute to a standard monthly charge, and may be charged to a credit card, or using a prepaid chargecard system like those used by prepay mobile phones.

There are usually some restrictions on these services. For example, with BT Broadband Voice you can't call the operator, emergency services, or some 07 personal numbers, and calls to some international locations are also restricted.

What You Need You'll need:

an internet connection an account with a VoIP service provider (or voice messaging service) And then :

a software phone program (or messaging software) a microphone headphones (preferable to speakers, which produce feedback and echoes.)

OR

an IP phone that connects to an ethernet port on your hub or router OR

a VoIP adaptor that allows you to connect an ordinary phone to an ethernet port on your hub or router You can of course use a software phone as well as your IP phone or phone and adaptor if you like.