SKYPE A CHEAPER WAY TO CALL

VoIP solutions are available both for individual and business users both offer great ways to save money compared to the call charges of many phone companies and calling cards. There are many VoIP solutions being offered by various organizations, more information can be found on www.whichvoip.com. Skype, one of the pioneers of this technology is still one of the leading VoIP providers as it offers various features including free calls to other users of Skype and to free-of-charge numbers, while calls to other landlines and mobile phones can be made for a fee. Additional features include instant messaging, file transfer features and video conferencing.

Skype is a freeware or free software, available for download at www.skype.com. Apart from free PC to PC calls, video calls and instant messaging, users can call phones and mobiles, forward calls when offline and send SMS messages. There are two subscription packages offered by Skype, the first being a monthly subscription of US$ 5.95 for unlimited calls within a country and US$ 12.95 for unlimited calls to any country. The second package is a prepaid subscription, where members pay for credit according to usage. Skype allows users to send and receive voicemails from US$6 (3 months) to US$20 (12 months) and charges $0.047 per SMS. For a full and detailed price breakdown visit http://www.skype.com/prices/

Potential users seeking to use Skype will need to download the software onto either a PC running Windows 2000, XP or Vista. Skype can also be used on a MAC operating system. A broadband or ADSL Internet connection is mandatory along with speakers and microphones for voice calls. For high quality video calls, a high quality webcam, faster broadband connection and a dual core processor is recommended.