Making calls over net technology is changing the face of phones.New technology to make voice calls over broadband has hit UK High Streets with the launch of Freetalk in Dixons, Currys, The Link and PC World.
It lets people make calls over the net using a phone handset and without switching on a computer.Starter kits are sold with a monthly subscription. Users will be able to make free UK landline calls and cheaper international and mobile calls.
Web-phoning technology, known as voice-over IP (Voip) , converts phone conversations into packets of data to be transmitted down the same wires used to browse the net.
According to the International Data Group, up to 11% of UK broadband users will have a Voip service by 2007.Voip services are available as free software that lets you make calls from a computer, such as Skype, Google Talk, or BT Communicator.
Skype is the most successful of the free software programs available that lets computer users make calls over the net to other computers for free, or to mobiles and landlines for cheaper rates, via paid-for credits.It has about 55 million subscribers worldwide and launched in 2003.
The kit also keeps its phone number, even if it is plugged into another broadband connection in the UK or abroad. This means people can use their home phone number abroad while avoiding roaming charges.
Net service provider, PlusNet, also announced the launch of its own Voip service called PlusTalk.It warned that people who take up free net calling services could face call quality issues and spam, nicknamed Spit (spam over IP telephony) attacks unless there was some control over the network.
It stressed that net service providers were best placed to offer net phone services because they had more control over potential network, spam and bandwidth issues that could affect the quality of service.
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