The Free Phone Call FAQ – Part II
Written by mak on October 7th, 2008Will you have to buy extra equipment?
Aside from an internet-enabled computer system and audio input and output devices, you won’t have to spend a single cent to be able to make free calls on the internet. Most providers don’t even require you to have new computers with high-end specifications. If your existing computer can already run Microsoft Windows 1998 or XP, it almost certainly can run a good number of internet calling clients.
For the audio input and output devices, most computers already have ports or jacks where you can plug them in. All you’ll have to do is get speakers or earphones as well as a microphone or other audio input device. When buying at your nearest computer store, look for items labeled ‘PC headset’ or ‘computer headset.’ They’re headphones or earphones with an integrated microphone device, and they’ll work perfectly for your purposes.
Of course, there are those dedicated ‘internet calling’ or VoIP phones; some even have branding, such as the Skype phone. Such devices have become increasingly common and popular in the last several years, but they’re not a necessity when it comes to making free internet calls. Have internet, will call. It’s as simple as that.
What kind of internet connection do you need?
Remember that making free internet calls involves sending quite a bit of data over the internet. A 56-kbps dial-up connection will not suffice. Although you will be able to connect, the data transfer will take too long for the internet calling system to be useful.
It’s recommended that you have at least a 256-kbps direct service line (DSL) or broadband connection before you start making voice calls over the internet. You might want to consider more bandwidth if you’re planning to make video calls, as that requires even more information to be sent over the internet. In comparison, many internet service providers today offer bandwidths upwards of 512kbps.
How’s the call quality?
Call quality is one of the aspects of internet calling that really depends on the provider you choose. A lot of factors come into play for call quality, such as the number of users on the network and the reliability of the servers that the provider uses. Some of the factors can even be on your side or on the part of the party you’re calling. If the person you’re calling doesn’t have good phone service, chances are good that the call will be staticky or choppy.
Generally speaking, a provider that has servers located at a geographic location near your area (i.e. the same country) would give better call quality because the data has to ‘travel’ less. However, if you get a well-established provider like Skype, they’re likely to give you good service regardless of how far away their servers are from your location.
Just stay tuned to this site if you want to learn more about making free phone calls online. Here you can read about facts and figures, as well as reviews of the internet’s more popular free call providers.


October 7th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
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October 28th, 2008 at 9:01 am
I searched for \’Internet Phone Service How Can I Get Free Voip\’ at google and found this your post (\’e Phone Call FAQ – Part II | Free Calls To: Anywhere in the world.\’) in search results. Not very relevant result, but still interesting to read.