South West eCommerce

You may have heard stories about how you can make telephone calls over the Internet for free. Well here's a system that makes it so easy anyone can do it.

It's called Skype. Skype is free software that you download onto your computer that allows you to make telephone calls anywhere in the world through your Internet connection. What's the big deal about that? It means that your calls are free! This isn't something we've just read about, we've tried it ourselves. Here's how it works.

Once you've downloaded and installed the software, you just need to make sure that your computer has a microphone and speakers. If not, you can usually pick up a headset with microphone from your local computer store, starting at around $30.

Why is it free, or so cheap? Because your call isn't going down the normal phone line and being charged international call rates. Instead, it's simply going through your Internet connection. Because you're already connected, there's no call cost.

And you don't even need broadband (ADSL). Although we haven't tried it on dialup, the specifications on the Skype website say that as a minimum you only need a 33.6Kpbs connection, which almost everyone should have even on dialup. Over our broadband connection it works fine.

So what are you waiting for? Almost 150 million people have already downloaded the software, and it will allow you to talk to anyone, whether they're next door or on the other side of the world, for nothing, using your computer.

To find out more, visit Skype - free international calls.