Long distance phone calls don’t come cheap. This is the main reason why it’s very difficult to keep in touch with friends and families who are from far away places. Sad to say, the cost of making a long distance call can also put a strain in a long distance relationship. Sometimes you wonder what technology is doing to address this problem. If you’ve been paying attention, you would have heard of the wonders of the Voice over Internet Protocol, or more commonly known as VoIP. To the uninitiated, VoIP is the procedure that allows the transmission of voice through the Internet. Using VoIP phone systems digitizes the standard analog voice audio into data signals. This pretty much uses a similar process when you upload or download files on the Internet. Since voice communication is being done over the net, it is a requirement to have a high speed Internet connection. It’s important to remember that VoIP calls cannot be made using dial-up.

So, how does VoIP help you save on your long distance phone calls? The savings you’ll have will depend on what equipment you use. First, you can utilize VoIP by using an analog telephony adapter (ATA). This device will be used to replace your connection to a traditional phone company. It is connected to your computer and it can easily convert telephone analog signals into digital data, which allows you to communicate with another person. The second way of using VoIP is through computer-to-computer. As long as you have a computer with sound card, microphone, speakers (or headset), and a broadband connection, then you can easily make calls to a person with the same configuration for free.

It doesn’t matter if you are a thousand miles apart, you can talk for as long as you want without worrying about costs. The only fee you need to pay is your normal access fee charged by your broadband service provider.

The third way is to use a VoIP phone. This type of phone is designed to be used for the specific purpose of making calls using the Internet. They are different from usual handsets because they have all the necessary software built into the handsets. VoIP works on cell phones as well. You just need to make use of a service and install the applications in your cell phone. The downside is that the person you call should also have the same service and he or she should also be online at an agreed time. Otherwise, the provider will start charging rates, although the rates are much cheaper than standard rates. Knowing what platform to use in order to utilize the power of VoIP will tell you how much savings you’ll get when you make long distance calls. Keep in mind long distance and overseas calls are completely free using the VoIP system as long as the person you call uses the same recommended system requirements. If you use VoIP to call a public switched telephone networks (PSTN), then you will be charged fees for every call.