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John Cletheroe's
USA and Canada Holiday Hints |
According to an article in the 18-Nov-97 edition of TourBus (an Internet related newsletter distributed by EMail), it is now possible to make international phone calls from a PC to normal phone numbers via the Internet. There are charges for normal calls and the TourBus article quotes rates of 10 to 15 US cents per minute for calls to the USA from anywhere in the world. According to the TourBus article there are no charges for phoning US (and possibly Canadian) toll-free 800, 877 or 888 numbers, over and above your normal costs associated with being connected to the Internet (ISP charges and local phone call charges).
You need a PC with an Internet connection via a SLIP or PPP account, which all modern Internet connections are. Users who access the Internet through an intermediary online service company such as AOL, CompuServe, or MSN should contact their supplier to check this point if necessary. Antiquated EMail and text-only connections to the Internet via "shell accounts" are not adequate.
The PC also needs to have a sound board with a microphone and a loudspeaker (or pair of stereo loudspeakers) connected.
The company offering this service is called IDT, and the service is called Net2Phone. You need to visit their web site at http://www.Net2Phone.com and download the necessary software, which is free of charge. The TourBus article doesn't state the size of the software.
For calls involving charges you need to establish an account with Net2Phone using your credit card. It is not clear whether you need to establish a credit card account if you will only use the service to call toll-free numbers.
I have not tried this service and therefore cannot report on its reliability, sound quality or the integrity of the company which operates it. It is however a most interesting development. I would advise anyone wishing to investigate this service to proceed with caution.
I would greatly appreciate receiving comments from anyone who has used this or any similar service. Please EMail me using the link at the bottom of this page.
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