Increasing competition in the internet phone market is good news for consumers because it should help to drive down prices even further.


The flipside of having more choice, however, is that it becomes more difficult to decide which plan to go for — especially as the way you use the service will determine which company offers the best deal for you.




There are also other things to consider, including whether you want to go for a plan that allows you to make calls without switching on your PC.


In the end, however, you may have to move to whichever brand becomes market leader, because you only get free calls to people who are on the same network as you.


Here are some pointers to guide you towards the biggest savings.

Follow up:

I make a lot of overseas calls. Which internet phone service offers the best deal?


If you make a lot of calls to the same person or people, the best way to save is to encourage them to sign up to the same internet phone service. All calls from both ends will then be free. Many internet phone services can be bought online, making it easy for people in a variety of countries to sign up.


If you want to use Freetalk or Tesco’s plan, however, it may prove easier to buy two or more welcome packs yourself and send them to the relevant people.


Skype, the original internet phone company, remains the cheapest for international calls to non-users, which makes it a popular choice for businesses with overseas clients.


Skype calls to landline numbers in Australia, France and America are 1.2p a minute, while phoning a landline in India costs from 8.7p a minute.


Some people will, however, prefer to use a service such as Plustalk or Vonage at home as they do not require your computer to be on.


It is also worth remembering that the sound quality and time delay with online phones may be a problem if you are calling a country such as Slovakia that still uses old-fashioned analogue phone lines.


I spend a lot of time on the phone to people in this country. Which plan should I go for?


Again, the cheapest option is to get the friends or relatives you call to sign up to the same service. If that is not possible, the first thing to consider is when you want to use the phone.


For those who often make calls during the day, as well as in the evening and at weekends, Vonage or Freetalk probably offer the best deal.


Both services offer unlimited free calls to British landlines and charge the same relatively cheap rates on calls to mobile and most other countries, but there are differences.


Vonage has cheaper set-up costs at £9.99, but charges a higher monthly fee of £7.99 — although it is currently offering a special introductory rate of £5.99 for the first six months. Freetalk costs £19.99 initially and £6.99 a month thereafter — or £79.99 upfront for the first year.



Can an internet phone service replace my landline?


Despite the low call charges, consumer advisers recommend maintaining a landline as well as an internet phone line.


One of the main reasons is that all the companies except Vonage ban emergency calls. But there are also other times when a landline proves a better bet — such as when you want to call a country that still has analogue phone lines.


Source: Times Online


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