How VoIP Technology Has Revolutionised the Rise of Cheap Calls

How VoIP Technology Has Revolutionised the Rise of Cheap Calls

VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) has worked hard to improve the way individuals communicate with one another. Providing people with an alternative, cheaper way to connect with friends and family, its rise has challenged the services offered by traditional telecommunications companies. The result is impressive and statistics report that there are currently over 100 million subscribers to the technology.

Basically harnessing the power of the internet, VoIP allows its users to make free or cheap phone calls to others without the need for a landline. In fact, because the internet is capable of transmitting more information at much higher speeds than a normal telephone, as well as being able to utilise such things as video technology, the cost of speaking to others has been significantly reduced. Services, on the other hand, have been enhanced.

One of the biggest advantages of using VoIP as opposed to a traditional phone line is that call rates don't change dependent on the time of day the call is made. In this way, on- and off- peak calling times have all but been made redundant. Not only that, but it is also possible to call any landline or mobile phone in the world, at any time, in a cost efficient manner.

For example, if a friend or family member is travelling around Italy for the summer and you want to keep in regular contact with them without spending a fortune, then VoIP provides the ideal solution. Indeed, it can cost as little as £0.014 per minute to call an Italian landline and £0.201 to a mobile. Not only that, but it is also possible to send text messages or set up voicemail.

In order to utilise VoIP technology, you need to download and install the relevant software onto your computer. Generally speaking, there are then two ways to go about making cheap calls: pay-as-you-go or monthly subscriptions. With pay-as-you-go, you can simply add credit to your account, which will then last for up to 180 days after each call is made. Monthly subscriptions, on the other hand, usually don't require any long-term contracts and can be used from anywhere in the world.

This is great, in comparison to phone cards, for instance, where you can only use them in the country where they were bought and the credit runs out after a relatively short time, such as 30 days. Additionally, the call rates on phone cards can vary significantly and they don't come with the added features seen with VoIP packages, like text messaging.

The advent of VoIP has brought with it many changes, not least that of low cost calls. As such, the way people speak to one another has been revolutionised and with the possibility of being able to make cheap calls to Italy, or anywhere else in the world, the power of connecting with friends and family is increasingly in the hands of the people.