Australian IT By David Frith
FEBRUARY 14, 2006 It seems rises in phone bills are just around the corner, following Telstra's decision to increase the amount it charges other phone companies to access its network.
If you haven't already done so, it's time to think about voice over internet protocol, which routes phone calls over the internet, rather than through Telstra's exchanges - at a lower cost.
VoIP is getting easier to use and has features that business users want, such as conference calls.
Most computer users probably know about Skype, the world's most popular software-based VoIP service.
Load Skype's free software on your PC or Mac, plug in a headset or a USB handset, and you can talk to Skype users anywhere in the world for free, if you have enough bandwidth and remain within your download limit.
Or plump for SkypeOut which, for small a fee, enables you to ring conventional phones. The price is about 2.2c a minute for most destinations. It costs the same to ring London, Mexico City or the house next door.
There are alternative VoIP offerings that allow users to plug in a handset and start dialling.
Popular ones here are Engin, BroadbandPhone, and MyNetFone. Most have a range of monthly subscription plans with untimed national calls costing about 10c, and international calls for about 2c-4c a minute.
NetComm, an Australian company mainly known for its modems and networking gear, last week entered the fray with what it describes as an easy-to-install VoIP phone bundle.
Its unimaginatively named the V100LS Telephone Adaptor/DECT Phone Bundle includes a cordless handset - rare with VoIP products - so you can make and receive internet calls from anywhere round the house or office.
Set-up is "as easy as connecting two cables together and plugging the phone into your broadband router," NetComm managing director David Stewart says.
The bundle comes configured with a connection to the MyNetFone service, with $5 credit, so you can make calls immediately.
DoubleClick hasn't used a VL100S so we can't vouch for the voice quality, but Stewart says it's equal to normal telephone landline services.
You can buy the V100LS bundle from computer stores for $179.
If you're a Skype user who wants to go hands-free, you may consider InfoAction Chatterbox, a gadget from Sydney-based IW Distribution.
The Chatterbox is about the size and shape of a computer mouse. It's a tiny voice conferencing unit: just plug it in to a free USB port on your PC or laptop and start talking.
The Chatterbox is designed to pick up sound up to four metres away.
It's a full-duplex device, which means both parties can hear each other simultaneously during a conversation.
No software is required, and digital signal processing is said to greatly enhance the sound quality.
The $69 Chatterbox is Skype-certified and can be ordered directly from www.iwdistribution.com.au
More involved VoIP voice conferencing is on the way for Skype users, thanks to an exclusive deal between it and chipmaker Intel.
The latest version of Skype's software hosts up to 10 users on a conference call - but only if your PC has a dual-core processor from Intel.
The limit is five callers for PCs using single-core chips or AMD's dual-core Athlon 64 processor.
The Skype 2.0 software will allow 10-way conference calls if it detects code specific to Intel's chips when the PC boots. This was apparently decided last year when Intel proposed a plan to optimise code on its chips for Skype's software.
VoIP conference calls chew up processing power.
Intel's Core Duo chips are said to be ideal for the task. AMD's Athlon dual-core chips are generally said to outperform Intel's Core Duos, but AMD has been shut out of the latest development, at least for the time being.
Still elusive for Australian users is the ability to make Skype calls from a mobile phone. IW Distribution has been working on an Australian version of IPdrum's Mobile Skype Cable that will make this possible for many Nokia and Sony Ericsson handsets, and hopes to have a stable version available in the near future.
dfrith@gmail.com
The Australian