We constantly hear about people talking to each other over the Internet. We often see an advertisement offering free calls, saying all you need is an internet connection.
Is it a myth that we can make free calls to a telephone number from a computer? Do we need an internet phone line to place a call? Is it possible to call to destinations anywhere in the world for free? Or do you need a special internet phone? Are the calls really free? What if the person I want to call does not have the Internet? How can there be free calls for mobile phones when mobile telephony is known to be expensive?
If you have those kinds of questions, this article is for you. Thanks to the internet, it sheds some light on basic ideas you can use to research and make free calls.
Free calls? How free is “free”?
Yes, you can make free calls over the Internet. Free, as in not paying a cent. There are some costs associated with the Internet connection (you need access to the Internet at least at one end of the call), and, in some cases, you will have to see advertisements.
Chat programs that allow you to make free calls
Most of the free programs that people use to chat will allow you to talk, too. You will not be charged for speaking like you are not charged for chatting. If that is your case, all you need to do is find how (and if) the program you are using to talk with your buddies will let you also engage in voice chat.
Free Internet calls to and from mobile phones.
The newest mobile phones (called smartphones) also work like small computers and can be connected to the Internet. To make free calls from such a mobile phone, you only needto to find the right program to suit your mobile phone and the provider you want to use.
Fee calls offered by specialized companies
A small group of companies out there have become famous for offering free calls to other subscribers. You can take advantage of that promotion by subscribing, especially if the people you want to talk to are using the same company.
Internet telephony for consumers
There is a standard technology that is more available than you think. That technology is called SIP; all you need to do is subscribe to a free service and download a free program. You can talk for free with anyone that has subscribed to the same company, and after some learning, you can also speak for free with people that use networks of other providers. Some of these providers offer free calls to telephone lines in many parts of the world for free because they promote their service. Others provide a free internet telephone service if you see or listen to advertisements. In many cases, the free calls are short (for instance, you can talk for only four minutes, but you can make as many four-minute-long calls as you want for free). Other companies offer free telephone numbers so they can call you on your computer from a telephone. Still, they only offer a telephone line for incoming calls in remote areas.
Back to the basics: how to make your free calls when everything fails
My grandfather used to say, “When the going gets tough, the tough get tougher”. Sometimes, you can’t find a service that works for a particular (for example, because you can hear well or get constantly disconnected). In such a scenario, you can resort to your craftsmanship and do it yourself, providing there is internet access on both ends of the call. Several programs will allow you to make calls over the IInternet from one computer to another without using any company’s services. I will give names here because they are free, non-commercial applications: Tinytalk, Loudtalks Lite, Speak Freely, and Freewebfone are good examples. To connect those programs between two computers, you will need to know how to find the IP address of the computer you want to talk to, and you might have a little fight with the firewall of both computers. Also, the authors of those programs will usually publish instructions on how to do so. With some effort, you can talk to places that specialized companies do not cover.
When things get too difficult or simply impossible
Certain countries in the Middle East will not let you use the Internet to make calls or, at the very least, will make it very hard for you. In such cases, you might try special services like a proxy or VPN, which some companies offer precisely to overcome such difficulties. Then again, if the country you are trying to reach has banned internet calls, you are out of luck: nothing will work.
This has given you different possibilities for making free calls worldwide. It must be remembered that free is a catchy word that must be taken with a pinch of salt. It all depends on your particular needs, on what (if any) access to the Internet is available, and what programs are being used by the people you want to talk to. Last but not least, whether you can make those free calls depends, in large part, on YOU.
