How others use VoIP to make cheap calls to both India and Pakistan

Communicating with loved ones, friends and family in India and Pakistan can be a costly business. Long distance telephone calls can soon rack up the phone bill, making it very expensive if you have family over there. However, technology is constantly evolving, and today, new and exciting innovations mean that communication across the globe is easier, faster - and much cheaper - than ever before.

VoIP or Voice over Internet Protocol technology is revolutionising the way we talk to each other. Rather than using a traditional telephone system, VoIP uses the Internet to link you and the person you're calling. To make VoIP calls to India or Pakistan, all you need is a home phone handset, broadband connection and the software or adapter. The real benefit of this system is that because of the way VoIP transmits data, there is no way to specify the origin of the call, so as far as the Internet is concerned, when you make a VoIP call from, say, Birmingham or London, you could be calling Islamabad or Delhi, or you could be calling your neighbour next door. This drives down the price and makes using VoIP incredibly cheap for international calls. So you never again need to worry about calls to Pakistan or India costing the earth.

The best way to get the lowest price for your international VoIP calls is to sign up with a VoIP provider. Once you have subscribed to their service, you will receive a telephone adapter that connects your digital landline telephone to your broadband modem or router. And that's all it involves - you're ready to make calls to India and Pakistan in exactly the same way as you would with a normal telephone system, but much more cheaply because the service uses your broadband rather than your landline. VoIP providers can design your package around your telephone usage. So if you have relatives in India or Pakistan, but you don't need to call the USA or Australia, you can specify which countries you call most often. This means that you will be able to make cheap calls to anywhere in India or Pakistan whenever you want to. The people you're calling don't have to have broadband - they can receive your calls on their standard digital telephone handset, just as before.

Another useful function of VoIP is that you don't have to use your home phone to call India or Pakistan. The number is allocated to the person rather than the actual address, so as long as you have your adapter and access to a broadband connection and a telephone, you can use your VoIP service. Any calls to India and Pakistan are charged to your account, no matter where in the world you call from.

The cheapest way to make VoIP calls is what's known as ‘PC to PC'. As the name suggests, callers use their computers as telephones to speak to each other, using a microphone, speaker and the broadband connection. Although this is the cheapest method of all (free!), it does mean that you are tied to the computer. The person you're calling in India or Pakistan also has to be online at the same time to receive your call. This method does not allow you to make free calls to mobiles or ordinary landline phones - you will be charged by the minute and the costs can quickly mount. The better alternative, particularly if you call certain numbers on a regular basis, is to sign up with a VoIP provider who will be able to offer you a package that includes unlimited cheap calls to India or cheap calls to Pakistan for a fixed, monthly sum. You will also find that the sound quality on VoIP provider's systems is far better: there is no delay or ‘echo' effect, and there is less risk of the connection being interrupted or broken.

During a time of economic recession, when every penny counts, saving money on international calls is worth exploring, particularly if you are looking for a provider who can offer you a package to suit your telephone habits. By using VoIP to make cheap calls to India and Pakistan, you can stay in touch with your family and friends far more easily, and the distance between you and your loved ones will seem that little bit smaller as a result.

Costas Kariolis - Online Marketing Manager of Vonage UK. Vonage are leading VoIP (Voice over IP) providers for home & small business users. Offering cheap calls to India and cheap calls to Pakistan landlines via an internet phone service for a set monthly fee.

For interviews, quotes, images or comments contact:
Costas Kariolis
Online Marketing Manager
E-mail: theteam@vonage.com