Twelve months on

There are still people who are confused about our VoIP telephone account and how it works. VoIP or voice over internet protocol is a system which uses your broadband Internet connection for phone calls. The special phone translates and compresses audio into packets of digital information that can be sent over the Internet just like any other data. At the other end the packets are translated back into audio

Our VoIP provider (VoIPtalk) relays our calls via traditional telephone networks to the people we are calling whether they are on a landline or a mobile. The people we call can be in any country in the world. The call only becomes local when it is relayed by the normal telephone provider.

We also have an incoming number. VoIPtalk provide a 0870 number with their free accounts but we use their Silver Service which gives us a local UK number that people can dial thus cutting down the cost of their calls.

The Silver Service also cuts down the cost of our calls. Currently calls to the UK cost us 0.9p (just over a centime) per minute at peak times, 0.5p in the evenings and 0.2p per minute at weekends. Calls to other VoIP users (or any VoIP) network are free.

We've been using the service for a year now. In that time the 369 calls that we have made have have cost us £25. Bear in mind that Pam's calls to the girls can last anything up to an hour!

If you want to try this service go to VoIPtalk's website; download the free trial VoIPtalk easySPEAK Softphone and setup a free account. You'll get £2 of credit to play with and a 056 number for people to call so your trial will cost nothing. You'll need a Windows PC running Windows 2000, XP or Vista with a broadband connection*. You'll also need a microphone and speakers, a USB phone or a headset.

If you decide to continue using VoIPtalk you'll either need to purchase a full copy of the softphone for £14.99, a VoIP phone, a VoIP adapter (to use with your normal phone) or a VoIP router. NB if you already have a USB phone (possibly used with Skype) you'll need to purchase the softphone package to use with it.

* The faster your broadband connection the better your call quality will be.