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Internet telephony over 3G
Making phone calls over the internet is a great way to keep your costs down, and now that you can take the internet with you wherever you go, is it time to ditch your home phone, take your broadband mobile and make all your calls through VoIP?
Is it possible?
A mobile broadband connection works in the same way that normal, fixed line broadband does, so technically there’s no reason why you can’t access your Skype account on the train, in a café or at a motorway service station and make as many calls as you want - for free.
Are there any restrictions?
However, one of the major differences between mobile broadband and fixed line broadband is the kind of download allowances that you get. Standard packages have download limits, or fair usage policies with an allowance of 1GB, 3GB or 5GB, while the top packages go up to 7GB or 10GB per month.
And if you’re using the internet and making lots of calls via your VoIP provider you’ll soon eat away at your allowance and could end up with a big bill for additional usage.
Also, some packages, like Web’n’Walk Plus from T-Mobile (www.T-Mobile.co.uk) doesn’t allow access to VoIP services - only those customers on the more expensive Web’n’Walk Max can make internet telephone calls.
Are there any alternatives?
Three (www.Three.co.uk) has teamed up with Skype to launch a 3 Skypephone that combines inclusive Skype minutes with a normal mobile phone contract, allowing you to make those international, or longer calls over for free on Skype - or even use the free instant messenger service.
Otherwise, if you have a VoIP compatible mobile phone, such as a PDA running Windows, with wireless access, you can install programs like Skype and use wireless hotspots to make calls via your account rather than your mobile phone provider.
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