Technology is in a continuous change, it evolves every day. With the help of the Internet, various new and innovating technologies are now accessible to everyone and provide new solutions to the old problems. One of them is the desire to communicate more, cheaper and over longer distances than usual. The solution for this need is the VoIP technology which replaces the traditional telephone landlines. This technology works best on a high-speed connection to the Internet. The dial-up connection is too slow for a real-time voice or data transfer, so it is not recommended. The program used in this type of communication resembles a telephone keypad and works in the same way. It is called ?Softphone?, which means ?Software Phone?.

The main advantage of this brilliant technology is its low costs. Every VoIP provider has its own rates, but generally, all rates are lower than most of the traditional telecommunication systems. The VoIP technology transforms analog signals into digital data packets, which are then compressed and sent over the Internet at high speed. When the data reaches the destination, it goes through a reverse process of decompression and conversion to an analog signal. It Even if it seems complicated, it is a real-time process, and that means there will be no delay between the two speakers. There are two ways of calling through VoIP: PC to PC or PC to regular phone. The first alternative is completely free, while the second is charged. The rates of any VoIP provider are displayed on its website, generally at a section called ?call shop rates?.

Every call shop customer can take advantage of a free online billing system, which detects all the booths that have made calls in the last three hours. The call in progress and the calls that have been completed can be accessed just by clicking on the booth link and the "end-of-day" cash accounting is assisted by daily reports. For this system there are available two levels of access, which means that only the administrator can configure the system, and the day to day billing system procedures can only be attended by the staff in the call shop. The billing procedure is completely self-configuring. You just need to sign up, set the currency that your callers will be charged and in the end set the rates that you wish to charge your customers. For the special call shop rates, you must visit the VoIP provider's website.

You can use VoIP applications with a simple microphone and computer speakers, but many VoIP manufacturers are designing phones which are specially created to work with this technology, called SIP phones. If you don't have a SIP-phone you can use the softphone which can be found on the VoIP provider's website and which perfectly emulates a standalone VoIP SIP-phone and runs on any windows operating system. It is free, easy to install and to use.

Through this new technology, people from all over the world can talk and change data almost for free, no matter the distance between them. Another advantage is the great mobility offered by this service. You can travel all over the world and still make and receive phone calls, because your number remains the same whether you are in Europe or in USA.