Have you ever wondered why, if you are constantly connected to broadband, you need a landline connection to speak to a friend or colleague? Making phone calls over the internet is cheap and should be easy, but most people until now have preferred the convenience of a conventional phone. What has put people off making Voip (voice over internet protocol) calls is that it meant fiddling with a computer or wearing a headset. Today, though, using the internet to make telephone calls without your computer switched on is straightforward.

All you need do is register with one of the services under review. You then plug a widget, supplied free by most providers other than Skype, between an ordinary telephone, even a cordless model, and your broadband router – et voilà. There are two exceptions: Jahjah, which requires you to type the number you are calling into a PC (though calls come through on a standard phone without adaptors) and Gizmo, which is computer-based.

The benefits are free – or at least cheap – phone calls and sophisticated tools, such as three-way calling. You can sometimes opt to have a number with an area code different from where you are based. For example, a New York or Dublin area code gives the impression that you have an office there. You may, however, need to work on your accent.

Voip technology works by converting your voice into digital information and then piggybacking on your broadband connection. Instead of paying BT or a similar landline provider, you pay the Voip service instead. If you ring somebody on the same system, such as Skype, the call is free. Otherwise you must pay a fee per minute but this is usually less than a normal call, especially if it is to a mobile or abroad. Some services, such as Vonage and BT, need a subscription but most are pay as you go.

You will, of course, need a broadband service and this involves a line-rental fee as well. However, as the quality of broadband has improved, so too has call quality for Voip. In tests that included calling standard landlines and mobile phones at peak and off-peak times, quality was only slightly poorer than standard calls. At worst there was an occasional slight echo or crackle.

The services proved simple to set up (though BT insisted on an installation CD) and, aside from Gizmo, each adeptly fielded a call to its customer services. If free calls seem too good to be true, you won’t be surprised to learn that Voip companies try to make money from you in other ways. For example the cost of calls to non-Voip customers varies greatly, so check the tariff. Though solid value overall, Jajah charges a pricey 30p a minute for 0870 calls, while Skype stings you for 14.5p to ring a UK-based mobile and will also bill you if you want a telephone number so that nonSkypers can call you. Another tactic is sometimes to charge for premium services such as voicemail.

Tesco and Vonage pitch themselves as replacements for your landline provider, while Jajah is a handy tool for an occasional cheap-as-chips Voip call without faff or commitment. For fancier features, such as snazzy voicemail services or video-conferencing (on a PC) then Skype has appeal, and as it has the biggest global Voip community, it offers the most free calls. Vonage was the only service with a Voip line adaptor able to make 999 calls. For most of the others you must rely on a mobile or unplug the adaptor.

The scoring was based on five criteria. Stars were awarded for ease of setup and call quality. To assess value, we checked the average price of off-peak calls to the US, India, and France, along with calls to mobile phones and 0870 numbers within the UK.

(The average fee with BT’s Option One landline service is 12p per minute.) Where appropriate, the cost of subscriptions was taken into account. A fourth star was awarded for extra features such as call forwarding or texting. A final discretionary star was for good customer service or innovation. We only tested services that do not require you to change your internet service provider (ISP).

It could be argued that traditional discount phone-line companies such as TalkTalk are more dependable than Voip and have similarly competitive prices. Nevertheless, for flexibility and discounts on more premium-priced calls, this new breed of phone service has much to offer. After all, this is the future.

JARGON BUSTER

Ethernet The most common form of wired link between multiple computers or a router

Router Device that enables several computers to share information or an internet connection. Most routers contain a modem and several can create a wi-fi network

Voip Voice over internet protocol. Using the backbone of the internet to conduct conversation by converting your voice to digital data. This requires either a computer or an adaptor that plugs into a router and a standard telephone

Prices include Vat

NO FRILLS

Tesco www.tesco.co.uk

Simple and effective despite inflexible pricing: This service scored big for simplicity. Once the package arrived, setup involved visiting the Tesco website and registering your details and those of the bundled phone adaptor. With the adaptor connected to a phone and router, we were ready to phone a friend. The tariffs are straightforward but not necessarily genuinely cheap. For instance, 2p a minute to America is a competitive peak-time rate, but off peak it’s pricier than some landlines. Overall the tariffs proved fine value at 4.5p per minute on average and there’s no charge for voicemail or a new number for non Voip users to call. Given the emphasis on independence from a computer, the lack of fancy features was no surprise.

PROFESSIONAL TOUCH

Vonage www.vonage.co.uk

Not cheap, but strong features and fine quality: Vonage portrays itself as a sophisticated internet-based telephone service rather than a service offering cheap calls. It boasts a number of impressive features that enable you to choose your area code or transfer an existing number, and call quality was noticeably crisper than that of the competition. It was also the only service under review able to make emergency calls. Setup was a breeze too: once you order the service, Vonage sends you a widget that you plug into your home phone and a router – and you’re off, with no need to download software. Despite a monthly fee starting from £6 (which includes free calls to most UK landlines), the tested tariffs still come out at an average cost of 5.5p. A solid option all the same.

POWER CALLER

Skype www.skype.co.uk

Bells and whistles but less suited as a main home-phone: The best-known Voip provider has evolved from a PC-based service into a nifty means of making cheap calls from an ordinary phone or, in some cases, a mobile. Setup involved downloading the free Skype software, and you also need a Skype-certified handset for the computer, or an adaptor that converts a select few cordless phones. Because it has the most Voip users, Skype offers the most free calls, and on average the tariffs under review cost a competitive 5.5p per minute. However, many features provided free by others are treated as paid-for extras by Skype: a phone number, so that nonSkypers can call you, costs £3.30 per month (inc voicemail). Ideal for PC-based power players though.

SIMPLE TALK

BT Broadband Talk www.bt.com

Basic service with decent value if few frills: You needn’t be a BT broadband customer to use this service; you just connect your phone and router to the supplied BT Voyager 10V adaptor, which will then default to normal calls if your broadband goes down. There are few frills, but a range of paid-for extras is available from BT, such as 1571 voicemail or call-waiting. Test prices are a competitive 4.5p a minute (plus £3 a month, which includes most UK off-peak calls) and the service worked well. It was the only one to provide an installation CD with the adaptor, which sounded helpful, but led to a fiddly computer-based setup. Unexciting overall. If you subscribe to BT’s Total Broadband package you get a posh router and phone plus more free calls, but it’s pricier.

CHAT HAPPY

Gizmo www.gizmoproject.com

Innovative, flexible and cheap, but computer-based: Most instant messaging services allow you to speak for nothing online with a headset that plugs into your computer. But the big providers – Yahoo!, MSN and Google – aren’t linked, so if your friends use a different service, you’re stumped. This is where Gizmo helps. Download the free software and chat free to people on all three providers. You can also make or receive calls to landlines or mobiles, albeit only from a computer or smartphone. The sound quality was excellent and there are other features, such as free conference calls. A phone number to receive calls costs £1.50 per month. Outgoing prices average 3.5p a minute (not inc 0870). Calls to mobiles are 10.5p a minute, but you must prepay for call “credits” and customer service is only via email.

STRING FREE

Jajah www.jajah.com

Fun and commitment-free, ideal for beginners: With this neat service, once you’ve signed up online you make calls by typing your phone number and that of the person you wish to speak with into the Jajah website. Your phone then rings, you pick up, and the number you’re calling rings. Obviously the service requires a computer to arrange calls so it’s not as straightforward as just picking up the phone, but landline-based calls between members are free and you don’t need broadband. For other calls you must register a credit card online, but need not prepay for call credits. Prices are a hefty 9.5p a minute on average, but this isn’t a helpful reflection of cost because the average is distorted by 0870 calls priced at 30p a minute. That aside, it’s fun.

Reviews by Guy Clapperton