You have read about VoIP and wish to utilize the service either to get free calls to friends also using the service or for full telephony abilities. Either way, what is the current offers from two big VoIP providers? This article will do a comparison of the three VoIP providers to give the reader a starting point of where they may wish to look for a service.

Skype With Skype calls to other Skype clients are free regardless of location.

However if you wish to make calls to non Skype clients then this is called "SkypeOut". Calls can be made to the 20 most popular call destinations for the one SkypeOut global rate. At the time of writing this rate was 1.7 Euro Cents per minute equating to about 2 US cents or 1.1 pence. With SkypeOut there is no line rental and no contract fees.

The SkypeOut global rate includes the following countries:

Argentina (Buenos Aires), Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Canada (mobiles), Chile, China (Beijing, Guanzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen), China (mobiles), Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hong Kong (mobiles), Ireland, Italy, Mexico (Mexico City, Monterrey), Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland (Poland, Gdansk, Warsaw), Portugal, Russia (Moscow, St. Petersburg), Singapore, Singapore (mobiles), South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan (Taipei), United Kingdom, United States (except Alaska and Hawaii) and United States (mobiles).

It should be noted that unless specifically mentioned, this rate is only applicable to regular landline telephones with mobiles more expensive. However note that Canada, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and United States are listed under the SkypeOut global rate for calling mobiles.

Other destinations are available and it would be advisable to check this rate prior to obtaining credits or calling.

Skype voicemail is available for a fee of 5 Euro for 3 months or 15 Euro for 12 months.

SkypeIn is where you wish to have a conventional phone number so you can be called from conventional phones. The fee for this service is 10 Euro for 3 months and 30 Euro for 12 months. Voicemail is included free if you subscribe to SkypeIn. (source : www.skype.com).

Vonage Vonage provides local and long distance calling anywhere in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico for the one price with calls to select European countries free with their unlimited plans.

In this article the two lowest fee packages will be examined. Basic 500 - This includes 500 minutes for outgoing calls in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico for $14.99 a month. Unlimited minutes for incoming calls and 3.9 cents for each additional minute over 500 outgoing minutes with rates for other destinations.

Premium Unlimited Plan - This plan allows for unlimited local and long distance calls anywhere in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico and select European countries (some included below).

Included features in both plans are: - Voicemail Plus - 3-Way Calling - Call Waiting - Call Forwarding - Caller ID with Name - 911 Dialing - Free phone adapter if you sign up directly from Vonage

Current (per minute) rates have been obtained to compare against the SkypeOut destinations:

 

 

• Argentina (Buenos Aires) - 5411 - $0.05

 

 

• Australia - 61 - $0.05 (other prefixes may be more expensive)

 

 

• Austria - 43 - $0.07 (other prefixes may be more expensive)

 

 

• Belgium/Brussels - 32 & 322 - $0.06 (other prefixes may be more expensive)

 

 

• Chile - 56 - $0.06 (other prefixes may be more expensive)

 

 

• China (Beijing - 8610 - $0.06) (Guanzhou - 8620 - $0.10) (Shanghai - 8621 - $0.10) Denmark - 45 - $0.06 (other prefixes may be more expensive)

 

 

• Estonia - 372 - $0.07 (cellular and premium - 3725, 37270 - $0.45)

 

Tip! With VoIP service, you can activate every phone jack in the house. First, disconnect your house internal phone wiring from the regular telephone service at the phone box outside (most probably on your front wall).

 

• France - 33 - $0.04 (free on unlimited plans) (other prefixes may be more expensive)

 

 

• Germany - 49 - $0.04 (other prefixes may be more expensive)

 

 

• Greece - 30 -$0.07 (other prefixes may be more expensive)

 

 

• Hong Kong - 852 - $0.04, Hong Kong (mobiles) - $0.04

 

 

• Ireland - 353 - $0.06 (free on unlimited plan) (other prefixes may be more expensive)

 

 

• Italy - 39 - $0.04 (free on unlimited plan) (other prefixes may be more expensive)

 

 

• Mexico - 52 - $0.12 (other prefixes in Mexico may be cheaper)

 

 

• Netherlands - 31 - $0.06 (other prefixes may be more expensive)

 

 

• New Zealand - 64 - $0.06 (other prefixes may be more expensive)

 

 

• Norway - 47 - $0.06 (other prefixes may be more expensive)

 

 

• Poland - 48 - $0.06 (other prefixes may be same or more expensive)

 

 

• Portugal - 351 - $0.06 (other prefixes may be same or more expensive)

 

 

• Russia - 7, 70-72, 74-78, 734 - $0.12

 

 

• Singapore - 65 - $0.05, Singapore (mobiles & premium) - 23223, 23230, 23233, 23235, 23240, 23250, 23276-77 - $0.05

 

Tip! While conversing, you should never allow anyone to put you on silent hold, as the VoIP service may disconnect you when it doesn't hear anything. It assumes that you are no longer on the line, thus disconnecting you after a while.

 

• South Korea - 82 - $0.06 (other prefixes may be cheaper of more expensive)

 

 

• Spain - 34 - $0.06 (free on unlimited plan)

 

 

• Sweden - 46 - $0.06

 

 

• Switzerland - 41 - $0.06

 

 

• Taiwan (Taipei) - 886, 8862 - $0.06

 

 

• United Kingdom - 44 - $0.04 (free on unlimited plan)

 

 

• (Source: www.vonage.com)

Summary It is hoped that from the information provided, each individual can relate their own circumstances and call patterns to establish which one of these two VoIP providers would be the best fit if it was down to the two. It must be remembered there is a vast range of VoIP providers.

Whilst all care has been taken, it is advised to confirm all rates and information via each individual VoIP provider.

The Author has an Associate Diploma in Electronic Engineering. For further information, books or VoIP items, please visit All About Voice Over Internet Protocol

This article provides up to date information in relation to VoIP services provided by VoipStunt and Skype however mainly focuses on call cost and free calls.

VoipStunt Free calls to any regular landline in these countries with the condition that the call drops out after one minute if not registered with credits however if have call credits provides 300 minutes of free calls per week? It appears 10 Euro will activate the 300 minutes of free calls and low priced calls to many other destinations and mobiles.

It must be noted however that it is very clearly written into the terms and conditions that Voipstunt do not nor do they intend to provide emergency service call facilities. This option should seriously be weighed up especially in the case where this provider is going to be utilized as the sole method of telephone communications. However most households do have mobile phone(s) so this may not be a significant consideration.

Countries included for free calls include Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Peru, Portugal, Singapore, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, Venezuela.

If using the software phone option ie a headset with VoipStunt software, it is possible that Zimmerman's Beta encryption tool ZFone may be utilized where as Skype utilizes a separate propriety encryption that allows no public scrutiny.

The service does allow for SIP connection with instructions on how to configure your SIP phone or router. (Source: VoipStunt website)

Skype With Skype calls to other Skype clients are free regardless of location.

However if you wish to make calls to non Skype clients then this is called "SkypeOut". Calls can be made to the 20 most popular call destinations for the one SkypeOut global rate. At the time of writing this rate was 1.7 Euro Cents per minute equating to about 2 US cents or 1.1 pence. With SkypeOut there is no line rental and no contract fees.

The SkypeOut global rate includes the following countries:

Argentina (Buenos Aires), Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Canada (mobiles), Chile, China (Beijing, Guanzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen), China (mobiles), Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hong Kong (mobiles), Ireland, Italy, Mexico (Mexico City, Monterrey), Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland (Poland, Gdansk, Warsaw), Portugal, Russia (Moscow, St. Petersburg), Singapore, Singapore (mobiles), South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan (Taipei), United Kingdom, United States (except Alaska and Hawaii) and United States (mobiles).

It should be noted that unless specifically mentioned, this rate is only applicable to regular landline telephones with mobiles more expensive. However note that Canada, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and United States are listed under the SkypeOut global rate for calling mobiles.

Other destinations are available and it would be advisable to check this rate prior to obtaining credits or calling.

Skype voicemail is available for a fee of 5 Euro for 3 months or 15 Euro for 12 months.

SkypeIn is where you wish to have a conventional phone number so you can be called from conventional phones. The fee for this service is 10 Euro for 3 months and 30 Euro for 12 months. Voicemail is included free if you subscribe to SkypeIn.

Please note that Skype also does not provide emergency services access and actually stipulates that "Skype is not a replacement for your ordinary telephone and can't be used for emergency calling." (source : Skype website).

Summary This article has compared two well known VoIP providers to allow potential or existing VoIP users an idea of whether either of these providers may be useful to you. Both provide significant free calls with numerous countries included on a free list for both services.

The Author has an Associate Diploma in Electronic Engineering. For further information, books or VoIP items, please visit All About Voice Over Internet Protocol.

VoIP or Voice Over Internet Protocol is an emerging technology that with the right equipment and a provider, enables voice communications or the audio content of a phone conversation to be transmitted in digital form over the internet. The advantage of this is that a standard telephone line is not required for VoIP.

As VoIP is an ever evolving technology, it is important to familiarize oneself in latest developments prior to making a commitment to a particular phone, provider or setup.

But let's look at some of the basics and how practically anyone can give this technology a ?run' without dipping deep into the pockets.

The Basics VoIP has a range of options and abilities depending on the service and equipment utilized. These include: ? Only calling other people using the same service; ? Ability to call any phone number including long distance, international, mobiles and of course local; ? Calling directly from a computer using a microphone or VoIP telephone; and ? Calling from an ordinary phone which is plugged into an Analog Telephone Adaptor or ATA.

Equipment Required Given that this is Voice over Internet, it stands to reason that an internet connection is necessary - albeit one of high speed (broadband).

Depending on the service being utilized it may be as simple as a microphone, or a VoIP telephone, or an adaptor that a normal phone can plug into with the adaptor plugging into an Ethernet connection.

So How Can I Make Calls for Free? There is a range of free VOIP software on the internet. A well know one is Skype at www.skype.com where users can make calls to landlines and mobiles for a fee but call each other for free.

Ok so you see the limitation here. To get free calls the person you wish to contact also needs to be a user of the same service. Whilst this is true, there are ways of obtaining very low cost calls through a number of providers. This said, the free services like Skype are well worthwhile for someone who wishes to experiment at no cost.

Service Providers Vonage is a major VoIP provider and AT&T are also offering services. There are many others some of which I have listed below with no particular bias: ? 1TouchTone ? AOL Internet Phone Service ? Axvoice ? BroadVoice ? Dialpad ? GalaxyVoice ? Net2Phone

For Australia several websites of VoIP providers are listed below: ? www.engin.com.au ? www.broadip.com.au ? www.faktortel.com.au

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. However they are also providing free international calls to a list of international countries listed below:

Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Monaco, Mongolia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Peru, Portugal, Singapore, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Venezuela.

Now that's not a bad list. The catch, a minor one, is that international calls for trial users are limited to one minute. To obtain up to 20 hours of free international calls you will need to top up your account however VoiPStunt state on their website they will not touch these credits so long as you are calling the free destinations. (source - www.voipstunt.com).

Current terms and conditions should be examined prior to engaging any service.

Summary VoIP is an emerging technology with much more to come in the future. Why not enjoy free international and peer phone calls in the meantime.

Author Tim ONeill has an Associate Diploma in Electronic Engineering. For further information, books and VoIP items, visit http://www.voipworking4you.info.