Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone calls that are carried over mobile networks are poised for dramatic growth, with one research firm suggesting they could grow 30 fold within the next half decade. According to analysts at Juniper Research, there are currently 15 billion minutes of VoIP calls made using 3G and 4G networks. Juniper reckons that as networks become increasingly faster and more common, the number of minutes will rise to 470.6 billion.

To make PC to PC or PC to phone calls, the first thing you need to do is choose a VoIP provider. There are a number of providers in the UK including BT VoIP, Demon and Vonage VoIP. Choosing which provider to subscribe too will largely depend on the packages they offer, the cost of making phone calls to land lines and mobile phones, and how many of your contacts use a specific provider.

VoIP is the acronym for Voice over Internet Protocol. Most simply put, VoIP is the technology that enables its users to make cheap phone calls over an internet connection. The technology has been in existence for over thirty years, but it has been the last half decade where its usage has gradually become mainstream, as broadband internet connections become ubiquitous.

VoIP is a new technology, enabling users to essentially make telephone calls using the internet – VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol. For home users, access is usually provided through a computer, but dedicated hardware, including handsets, are more common for business users and are increasingly becoming the norm. VoIP calls can be made to any type of telephone line, not just other VoIP lines. It has become increasingly accepted in recent years, and has become seen as a replacement for standard telephone lines in some areas.

VoIP, or, to give it its full title, “Voice over Internet Protocol”, is, as the name suggests, a technology that allows voice telephone calls to made across the Internet, via a broadband connection, rather than via a conventional, analogue telephone line. VoIP works by converting analogue sound waves – the caller’s voice – into a digital signal, which then traverses the Internet, and is converted back into analogue sound, which the recipient can hear, before it reaches its destination. VoIP calls can be made from a computer, equipped with free, downloadable software, and a specially designed VoIP handset, or indeed, from a conventional telephone handset, equipped with an adaptor.

Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) may have a complex name, but the technology is not hard to understand. Simply put, VoIP takes phone calls over the internet instead of using conventional phone networks. Calls between VoIP users never touch the phone network and can therefore be FREE because they never get near telephone companies’ billing systems.