We've all become familiar over the past couple of years with the ability to text message family and friends using services such as MSN Messenger. You might be one of those who don't want to type text to chat to others and have used Messenger's audio feature. Basically what you're doing is making a free phone call to others anywhere in the world.

Now that more users are connecting to the Internet with broadband - and thus have a permanent connection when their computer is turned on - free phone calls to anywhere in the world are quickly becomeing part of what services the 'Net offer.

Phone calls over the 'Net have been around for some years and are now coming to the fore with so many users connected to broadband. The technology has been named Voice over Internet Protocol and a search for "voip" will show how the technology is progressing, both for business and the home user. For example, a recent news story reveals that the number of cable users in North America who have switched to VoIP has increased by 900%, from 50,000 in 2003 to half a million in 2004.

To get started with VoIP, the good news is it won't cost. The software from providers such as Freshtel (a Melbourne company, www.freshel.net) and Skype (23 million users at present, www.skype.com) is free and once installed, you have a softphone. As long as your computer has a soundcard, microphone and speakers or headphones, you can start using VoIP to call other users with Freshtel or Skype without paying a cent.

Freshtel and Skype services also enable you to call people the old-fashioned way directly to their landline phone or mobile. This is when it will cost. However, VoIP can be much cheaper than regular phone calls to anywhere in the world because your call travels via the Internet to the exchange nearest the person you're calling and the only cost is then between that exchange and the person's phone.

VoIP is a technology that is moving quickly and you'll find plenty of sites now selling handsets and other gizmos so users on old-fashioned phones can call you via VoIP. To get started, register your free phone number at Freshtel - you may be fortunate to get a number that's almost the same as your landline one and you'll start to see the possibilities.

Here are some sites to get started:

• Freshtel's Firefly VoIP Service: www.freshtel.net
• News Reports from Broadband.com: www.dslreports.com
• ozVoIPmedia: www.ozvoipmedia.com
• Skype VoIP Service: www.skype.com
• VOIP Wiki - a Reference Guide: www.voip-info.org

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