I am planning to start using voice over IP for most international calls, what provider can you recomend? What kind of experiences have you had? What should I look for with providers?

MSN Messenger :D

Originally posted by Nauris
MSN Messenger :D

Interesting. How do I use messenger to call out to a person with a normal landline or cell phone? I tought you could only create a voice connection to someone using messenger themselves?

I was goofing around, but actually, MSN Messenger *can* be used to call to normal landline or cellphone.

Only "Before you can make a phone call, you must either sign up with a voice service provider or call from a corporation that provides an account." (MSN help)
so it doesnt really answer your initial question about providers.

Thank you, found that bit in the help. However, they don't seem to give you any information on how to find a provider .. :)

Just if someone scans the forums in the future, I decided on this provider (and have been happy for all of three days ..:)):

www.iconnecthere.com

So how does that work? you use your broadband to call a specific IP and get it converted to a landline call at thier end?

Youre in dublin, does that make a difference?

Might I ask why youre using this btw?

Ta.

I downloaded a piece of software called PCPhone that connects to their servers (and is able to do so even if I'm beyond a firewall). After that I'll just punch in a number and it is converted into a local landline at the destination. The voice quality isn't as good as in a normal landline (good but not perfectly crisp) but doable for most situations. As long as I'm on the Internet (I assume we have a fiber ring here) the charge is only dependent on where I call.

The reason for such an arrangement is that I tend to call foreign numbers a lot, partly because we just relocated (from Finland) but also to call different service providers and sometimes clients. Even with their most expensive plan (no-sign up fees and no monthly charge) it is still about one or two magnitudes cheaper than using a local carrier.

They also had a free trial, which I used to test if their service actually worked.