Skype Lets You Make Free Phone Calls Online (article)
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Skype Lets You Make Free Phone Calls Online
– by Jim Edwards
© Jim Edwards – All Rights reserved
http://www.thenetreporter.com
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Everywhere you turn phone companies offer 3 or 5-cent long
distance phone calls, or even unlimited long distance for a
flat fee monthly.
Now you can make reliable calls using the Internet for
anywhere from 0 to 2.3-cents per minute.
Welcome to Skype, the Internet telephony company that has
set the traditional telephone world on its ear.
Recently purchased by Ebay for 2.6 billion dollars, Skype
stands ready to revolutionize worldwide voice communication
simply because they enable you to carry on crystal clear
voice communication with anyone else in the world with a
either a phone or Internet connection.
What’s the catch you ask?
Well, to make phone calls, you need a computer, a
microphone, speakers, a modem, an Internet connection and
the free Skype software you can download from www.skype.com
To make a free phone call, you need someone on the receiving
end with a computer, Internet connection, and the Skype
software installed.
To make a call from your computer to a land-based phone
virtually anywhere in the world, you must pre-pay for
calling minutes in blocks of 10 Euros (approximately $12
U.S.).
One block of calling minutes gets you about 500 minutes of
calling time, or a little over 8 hours of talking time.
Skype uses a technology called IP telephony.
IP telephony first appeared commercially back in the lat
1990′s with services like Dialpad.com, which initially
offered phone calls from computers to land-based phones in
exchange for watching online advertising.
This model soon failed, but the thought of making ultra-
cheap phone calls through a computer did not.
And, as the recent mega sale of Skype reveals, a market now
exists that can put Internet telephony to work on a grand
scale, or at least large enough to make eBay pony up with a
lot of cash and stock to give it a try.
Once you install the software, you log onto the service and
can make phone calls to other Skype users through their
computers at no charge.
You can set up a call list, much like an instant messaging
“buddy list” so with a couple clicks of the mouse you can
ring your friends up for a chat.
Or, if you pre-pay for calling minutes, you can enter in the
country code and phone number of your pals, click a button,
and their phone or cell phone will ring.
Skype also allows you to hold conference calls with up to 4
other people at the same time, making it easy to hold group
meetings.
Skype includes a group chat feature which allows you to hold
a group chat session with up to 48 other people at the same
time… excellent for “webinars” or even planning that next
family reunion.
Skype also allows you to transfer files to and from other
users, perfect for sharing photos, music and short video
clips with your pals.
Tip: Get a good headset microphone.
It makes using the service more enjoyable and also
eliminates the echo created by your own speakers feeding
back into your PC’s microphone.
–
Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the
co-author of an amazing new ebook that will teach you how
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7 Responses
Hello Jim;
Thanks for the Skype article. Unless I am not fully understanding the concept, I don’t see the “Big” deal. I have been talking for free accross the country and the world for several years now using MS Instant Messenger. So, pardon me if I seem a bit nonchalant but like I said, unless I am getting the concept wrong, I really don’t see what all the fuss is about and way Ebay paid such a hefty price for it.
Cordially;
Lode
So I made another donation and it gave me information for a call that was dated the 27th.
What the numbers for tonight? Don’t worry I have donated enough time and personal energy to fill a tele-conference room ten times over, I even went down there to help for 4 days with a suburban full of friends, helping the stranded animals.
Thanks Jim for ‘splaining Skype for everyone. I started using it with my team last January and it’s definitely a great tool. We’ve used it strictly with team members who are heavy online users. But I can certainly see where it would save a lot of dollars on the many teleseminars we attend – if you don’t have a “all in one” calling plan. I’ll definitely mention it to my teleseminar students.
Here is the same technology but different company. It sounds like this technology will be the wave of the future.
Get Ready for Voitelâ„¢
Voitel, the new broadband Internet phone service coming soon to Market America. If you’ve kept on top of the news, you’ve seen that broadband communications is the next massive trend, and Voitel gives you the opportunity to get in on the ground floor! We have been working diligently to build the most powerful system for you and your customers.
Voitel will begin its service by offering VoIP, which stands for Voice over Internet Protocol. VoIP will change the way we communicate and interact with the entire world. By the end of the 2005, less than 6 percent of homes in America will be using VoIP, and by the end of 2008 it is estimated that over 40 percent will be using it. That is amazing growth and you can be there at the beginning!
To recap its advantages: VoIP sounds complicated, but using the service is very simple. VoIP allows you and your customers to use an existing broadband (generally cable or DSL) Internet connection to make phone calls across the continental United States and Canada for one low rate with no additional long distance fees. With Voitel you will also receive great features such as voice mail, caller ID, and three-way calling, all included for free with basic service. Best of all, if you and the person you are calling both have Voitel service, the call is free. No matter where in the world you might be, if you both have Voitel service, then the call is free!
Lots of people using Skype to learn a new language on my page. Join us. 
Hi Jim,
I’ve been using Skype for over a year. I use the basic free Skype service (computer to computer) to talk to my dad in North Las Vegas, Nevada and my brother in Plymouth, Minnesota all the time. As you said, overall the voice and call quality has been excellent. All three of us have broadband connections (we all have cable modems), and while Skype claims their service will work even with dial-up, in practice I have noticed that when talking to a person who is connecting via analog dial-up modem, the initial call quality is very poor and the voice of the person on the other end is really garbled and sometimes sounds like a CD that is stuck in a certain spot, but if you hang in and keep talking (the key seems to be that they have to keep talking) after about 30-40 seconds it clears up and they sound just fine. Technically I’m not sure what the reason is for that, but I have noticed it regularly.
I haven’t used the Skpe Plus service at all (where you can talk from your computer to a regular land-based telephone or cell phone) so I can’t vouch for it one way or the other, but I have tried other internet telephony products in the past and from my experience I can certainly agree that Skype far and away exceeds the quality of anything I’ve tried before. And it’s so easy to use. If you can use IM, you can use Skype.
Oh, one last thing. I absolutely agree with your suggestion to have a good headset with an integrated microphone. I would make sure it’s a noise canceling microphone. The first headset I got didn’t have a noise canceling mic and my dad and brother used to complain they heard everything going on around me — including every breath I took. I got a different headset with a nosie canceling mic at Wal Mart for less than $20 and the folks I talk to have been much happier ever since.
Thanks for another great article!