If you aren't already familiar with the class of services known as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), in a nutshell, it's the technology that allows you to make telephone calls using an Internet broadband connection (DSL or cable), but not necessarily using a computer.

So, what's the big deal about VoIP? VoIP is fully compatible with our existing telephone infrastructure, so you can make and receive calls from any wired or wireless telephone. Most of your long distance calling is included in the basic rate and international calls are usually deeply discounted if not already included. Your phone can go anywhere you go as long as you have an Internet connection available (including overseas). But perhaps the most exciting part is that the government hasn't figured out how to tax VoIP because the Internet is a tax free zone (for the moment).

Will you save money by switching to VoIP? That's going to depend on whether you already have a broadband Internet connection and how you use your telephone, but the likelihood is very high that you can save money by adding or switching part or all of your telephone service to VoIP.

One of the biggest providers of VoIP service is Skype (http://www.skype.com) which was recently purchased by Ebay. Skype is a free PC based service for anyone calling within the service. Although it appears that Ebay intends to use Skype to facilitate communication between sellers and bidders around the world, it is not limited to Ebay users. This is a better quality of sound usually than chat programs provided by Yahoo! and AOL.

I used Skype for a brief while to communicate with my employee in India. It was a great solution that allows you to talk and pass instant messages at the same time. That's great when, as we do, passing website addresses back and forth during the course of a conversation.

As long as both parties are on Skype there is no charge for the service. The downside of Skype is that it requires the use of personal computer. For a charge you can “Skype out” allowing you to call out from the service to a telephone anywhere. The “Skype In” service reverses that, allowing you to receive calls and providing you with a telephone number where you can also receive voice mail.

However most people want a phone that looks, acts, and feels like a telephone. For about the same as price as most basic telephone services you can get your service from a VoIP provider like Lingo, Vonage or Packet8. For about $20 for residential service or $40 to $50 for business service you get converter box that interfaces between your Internet connection and your telephone. You get local calling, and US and Canadian long distance calling (some plans even include overseas calling at no additional charge), and a host of additional features (caller ID, call waiting, call forwarding, 3 way calling, and voice mail) at no additional cost and untaxed!

If you look at your current phone bill, just under half of your total is communication taxes. That's not the case with VoIP. There is a small tax (under $2.00) for your telephone number and that's the full extent of the taxes. Also because of telephone number portability, most services can now port your existing number to your VoIP system.

With VoIP you can also do a few other things that can't be done with a cellular phone. You can add additional phone numbers in any area code for around five dollars per telelphone number (sometimes even overseas numbers). It's allowed me to add a Thomasville, GA number to my main switchboard.

Sure you can travel with your with your mobile phone. Of course you pay extra with many providers to avoid roaming fees, and even then all areas may not be covered. With VoIP, anywhere you can find an ethernet port to the Internet, you can use your phone, whether it's an Internet cafe or a hotel room and with some providers, wireless hotspots. Just to be clear, that's anywhere, locally (between home and office) or around the country or even in other countries.

Some providers even offer hosted PBX systems, like the one I use with Packet8. Users can be in one location like an office site, or anywhere in the world. I sent one of my lines to my employee in India. Now he has a local Tallahassee phone number. He can call all of our US and Canadian customers at no charge and he is only a three digit extension away from me. My entire staff works from home in three different cities. We get our voice mail emailed to us. We even have customizable on hold music.

VoIP is not the solution for everyone. It doesn't handle faxes well. There have been some complaints about 911 service with VoIP, and sometimes there are digital artifacts in the audio. The call quality can sometimes sound like a bad cellular phone connection to being clearer than your current land line. Also if you have no power to your phone (or router) or if your Internet service is down, like after a hurricane, you have no service.

With most of us using multiple communications providers, I think that the advantages far outweigh the potential problems. Many current moblie providers are eyeing VoIP market now, and there is a lot of talk about hybrid phones coming that will either use current wireless networks or 3G (third generation cellular) or new computer networking protocols like Wi-Max in conjunction with traditional cellular service. One thing is clear. VoIP is changing the way everyone talks.