Free Internet Phone
Most of us are acquainted with traditional PSTN (public switched telephone network) or the copper wire telephones. With the Internet and other packet switched networks becoming common, another technology being used increasingly is the Voice over Internet protocol, also known by the abbreviated name VoIP. Most service providers promising free internet phone packages are actually offering transmissions through VoIP.
Availability of the Internet across broadband cables has enabled the service to reach the masses. Since the calls are routed through the Internet, the consumer does not have to incur any additional costs to use the service. Also, subscribers to the service can make/receive calls in the same manner as the traditional phone lines. Sometimes, operators offer free software download to make the service available.
To lure customers, many operators offer online calls packages such as free international telephone calls (for same network subscribers), unlimited calls to certain destinations for a monthly fee and other similar attractions.
Internet Protocol has not only revolutionized domestic telephones, but has opened a whole vista of opportunity for commercial entities. Low costs and increased bandwidth available through VoIP technological advances are causing businesses to adopt the system for greater cost efficiency. VoIP is being used to transmit not only phone calls, but also email, fax, voice mail and even conduct conferences over the Internet.
While free internet phone may seem like the perfect cost saving solution, consumers are well advised to remember that there is nothing called a free lunch. The promised 'free' implies zero cost, which is not the reality as far as VoIP telephony is concerned. Although the total costs incurred per unit of transmission may be considerably lower, the customer still has to pay for broadband usage, often linked to volume of data transmitted.
In the regular telephone connections, customers are billed on a per unit time basis, which means that irrespective of whether the data is transferred in a communication, if the user is connected, he will be billed. In contrast, the VoIP system will only bill according to the megabytes (MB) of data transmitted or information sent in a call. The amount for data transferred in a given unit of time is always considerably lesser than the charge for time connected. In layman's terms, calls through IP are cheaper.
As the system is still in its infancy, there are certain other bottlenecks associated with free internet phone systems. The conversation is broken up into packets, sometimes causing interruption and fixed delays. This is more frequent in geostationary satellite links. Also, frequent users sometimes complain about congestion. Even with the hiccups in a VoIP system, it is gaining phenomenal popularity as the advantages of low cost and easy adaptability are unparalleled.