How to make phone calls over the internet
If you’re a nonprofit organisation working across regional and rural areas, or nationally, telephone costs will be a big part of your operating costs.
Internet telephone software can help you cut bills for long-distance calls. At the same time, you can also exchange data, such as images, graphs and videos.
There are two main options:
- A full, internet-protocol telephone system known as ‘Voice over Internet Protocol’ (VoIP) phone systems. VoIP is the technology for transmitting ordinary telephone calls over the internet and lets you make free long-distance phone calls using your computer. Most new phone systems being sold have VoIP capability but you will need expert help and advice for setup and installation. VoIP systems are generally suited to larger organisations. Installation costs can be high.
- Free software on your PC for long-distance calls and teleconferences. This option generally make more sense for smaller organisations. The software will allow you to talk for free to other people or, in many cases, call a landline for lower than normal cost.
The first free possibility is instant messaging software, such as Yahoo Messenger
or Windows Messenger (free software that comes with Windows PCs) These usually have a talk function that allows you to do just that with people you are linked to. Features are basic but you'll get an idea of the quality your setup can provide. Each program has simple instructions.
The second free possibility is specialised software. These have more features, such as improved sound quality, error correction, and call flexibility. They can usually call ordinary phones as well as those that are internet linked.
You would most likely use them for long-distance calls and teleconferences while keeping a normal phone for local calls.
See an article discussing different types of VoIP including its pros and cons.
Some examples of VoIP services operating in the Australian marketplace are listed below. For a fuller list take a look at the VoIP Providers List.
Skype As of mid-2005, calls to landlines are charged at about 2.7 cents per minute within Australia. It works on Windows PCs, Linux PCs and Macs.
Firefly by Freshtel is Australian and offers calls to regular phones in Australia for 6.9 cents per minute. But it only works on Windows machines.
Note that the voice quality on some VoIP systems can be patchy, so make sure to check out this aspect.
True stories
Phone bills plummet
Internet telephony has revolutionised our work with regional Australia. We run teleconferences all the time with people in the Kimberley and Cape York. When we started using Skype we went from a phone bill of thousands a week to next to nothing.
Peter Botsman, Indigenous Stock Exchange, www.isx.org.au
Phone internet telephony cutting costs
For phone calls between our town centres we’re saving money by using Skype. One of our volunteers had been using it and we decided it was the way to go. Our intention is to get other organisations we work with to use it so we can all cut our costs.
Cathy Darcy, Atherton Neighbourhood Centre, Queensland
Whichever software you choose, you’ll need the following:
- A microphone and speaker in your PC. Note that you have to be hooked up to your PC to make or receive a call (although you can get wireless headsets with some PCs).
- A broadband connection for it to be worthwhile (so it’s not strictly speaking free – you do have to pay for a good internet connection and it will consume part of any monthly download allocation).
- To keep your regular phone as well. People with a normal phone may not be able to call you on your internet phone. And some emergency services don’t (yet) work with internet telephones.
- A credit card is required for most systems (such as Skype) as accounts need to be paid in advance.
More information
Internet telephony and the technology behind it has developed rapidly since 2003. Check the date of any information you find as recent articles are likely to be more useful than older ones. The government is planning to introduce a new number range that is not location specific to be used by VoIP users.
- General info on VoIP
- Phonechoice provides comparative consumer phone information
- Consumer websites occasionally have articles on the subject. Here is an example. Businessweek is another.
- The Australian Government has background information on VoIP.
- If you only have a dial-up connection, all is not lost. Read this article on Making Calls over a Dial-Up Internet Connection
- Useful Information on VoIP for new users is posted on the VoIP Discussion Forum on the Whirlpool Broadband site.