Internet Telephony

 

How it works

You will be simply using the internet to make phone calls rather than the expensive conventional phone system. Calls to landlines and mobiles are cheaper, while calls to other people on the system are free. That is free to anywhere in the world. You can even add video to the call if you have a simple web cam- and it's still free!

A special phone, or headset, is needed which plugs into your computer (see below) and the computer must be on for it to work. For occasional use phones tend to be more convenient than headsets and they tend to be more reliable. Analogue sets plug into the soundcard at the back of the machine, but the modern digital units are more convenient because they simply use a spare USB socket and generally deliver better quality.

Internet telephony works better on terrestrial DSL than satellite DSL because there is a slight delay, caused mainly by the time it takes for the signal to travel to the satellite and back (it's 22,000 miles away). Generally however this delay is less than a second and most people find that acceptable.  Countering this, a big advantage with satellite is you dont actually need a land line.

 

Skype

It's easy to sign up to Skype. Simply go to http://www.skype.com to find out more about it, download the software and open an account. To get free calls to other people on Skype you need pay nothing and you don't even need to put any card details into the system. To make the most of it though you can sign up for a monthly package or just pay as you go to get cheap calls to ordinary phones.

 

Skype phone

The DSL Skype Digital USB phone is compatible with Windows 7/VISTA/XP/2000. It features: echo cancellation, noise reduction, full duplex communication and has an adjustable ring volume control. It is USB powered, so no external power required, has its own driver and sound card.

 

The LCD screen shows incoming caller Skype ID. The phone rings for all incoming calls and there is a choice of ring tones. Dialling, answering, and hanging-up of calls can be done at the touch of a button

 

Skype phone £29.95

 

 

Skype desk phone

• High quality speakerphone
• Large back lit screen
• Rings for incoming calls
• Driver for Windows 7/Vista/XP

Skype Desk phone £49.95

 

 

 

Copyright Ó 2009 DSL Telecom Ltd, DSL House, Swansea