While Voice over Internet Protocol (or VoIP) telephony has been around for a few years already, it is just slowly moving from being some “high-tech innovation” to a serious alternative to making landline calls. As more and more major corporations are shifting their communications technology to more IP based architectures, private households follow and switch to the cheap alternative to phoning networks.

A recent survey among European countries showed, that both in France and Germany over 90 percent of the population were already aware of the availability of VoIP telephony. (http://www.sipsurf.de/news/Broadcast/Deutschland-ist-VOIP-Europameister-552.html) In most other countries as well as in the United States, this number is slightly lower. However these percentages are growing at a rapid rate. While 46% of all Brits are knowledgeable about broadband telephony (9% more than just nine months ago), 51% of the US American population is aware of IP calls (up 15% from nine months ago). (http://www.harrisinteractive.com/news/allnewsbydate.asp?NewsID=1041)

And while the acceptance of this new technology is growing by the day as is the willingness to try out this hyped novel telephony, more and more providers come forward with ever-new concepts and methods. Established VoIP or VON (for Voice over Net) offers such as Skype (www.skype.com) or MSN Messenger (www.msn.com) offer connections via broadband internet lines – directly from one PC to another. In this case a microphone and headset (or other listening device) are attached to the computer and used for transmitting voice reception.