For some days now I very intensely tested different VoIP Programs and Services. And while there is still for sure some way to go to be really mainstream… You get already a lot out of the Services offered today!
Sure there is Skype (you can make free calls over the Internet and buy credits to make calls to normal land lines…) and now Gizmo. But many VoIP Service-Provider are coming up.
I even started to use different Provider depending on which country I am calling in.
A great and free prgram to combine different providers is x-Lite. I used it to connect two German (Web.de FreePhone & GMX NetPhone) and a US (Gizmo) provider. I was able to receive calls on my VoIP Phone number and make calls in both countries.
The big advantage is that you are able to dial 0800- (free call) and 0900- (toll call) numbers with some of these services not reachable through traditional land line calls from abroad! Additionally every service offers different prices for calls to different counties and you can make the cheapest call depending on where the call terminates.
I will add more to this topic as I work with these services.
