Talking about a revolution

Consumer Correspondent Paul Kelly examines the increasing trend of using the internet to save money on the phone bill.

Thu, 17 May, 2007 - 01:00

Online communication: As broadband becomes more popular, callers are making cheap or even free calls using computer programs like Skype.

IMAGINE ringing a friend in the USA for the same cost as calling your next-door neighbour — or even getting free transatlantic telephone calls.

That’s just what thousands of callers across Ireland are doing thanks to low-cost telephone numbers offering calls abroad for local rates.

And as broadband becomes more popular, others are making cheap or even free worldwide calls through their computers using “voice over internet” programs (VOIP) like Skype.

Callers attach a Skype phone or headset to their computers, allowing them to make and receive calls via the internet in the same way they would use their normal home telephone.

“Skype is more than relatively cheap — it’s extremely cheap,” said Niall Kitson, new editor of the PC Live! technology magazine.

“It’s the future for phone calls and as broadband becomes more widespread in Ireland so too will making phone calls over the internet.”

Skype works by converting the caller’s voice into digital signals and sending these over the internet at fast speed to the person receiving the call at the other end.

Calls can even be made to a normal telephone or a mobile phone as well as other computer owners who have the Skype programme and a broadband line.

Skype callers can ring a traditional landline in Britain, USA or Australia for a mere 2c per minute at any time of the day compared with Eircom’s standard rates as high as 85.6c a minute, a saving of 98% a call.

And if Skype callers are dialling another Skype phone the call is free irrespective of where they live or whether the person they want to ring is in Belfast, Berlin or Brisbane.

Around 55 million people worldwide have downloaded Skype but the most who have used the service at any one time is 9m, according to Skype’s own figures.

Among those on Skype is former Cork office worker Rebecca Moore, 28, who is now a student in London and uses the service to call family and friends in Ireland, France, Switzerland and Sweden.

“Skype’s a lot cheaper and means I can keep in touch with my family without running up a big bill,” said the former UCC student.

Experts say Skype users face difficulties in making calls when too many people are on a broadband network or the line speed is slow.

Mr Kitson said Skype was being held back in Ireland because of the lack of investment in the country’s broadband network.

For telephone callers without a computer, services from the likes of allfreecalls.ie or Dialwise allow them to make international phone calls by dialling a 1890 local rate number.

They simply dial the local rate number, wait for a prompt and then key in the international number — but only get billed for the price of a local call.

Daytime calls to popular destinations like Britain, the US, Australia and western Europe can be made at a cost of 4.93c per minute compared with Eircom’s international rates of 19c to 85c a minute.

Other destinations have to be dialled via national rate or even premium rate numbers charging up to 33c per minute, reducing the savings on offer via a standard Eircom line.

10-minute daytime call to

National number

Eircom: 82c

Dialwise: 49c

Skype: free or 20c

Mobile within Ireland

Eircom: €2.23

Dialwise: €1.50

Skype: €1.84

USA

Eircom: €1.90

Dialwise: 49c