Free Long Distance Telephone Calls

It was bound to happen. Totally free phone (voice of IP) calls using only the Internet to connect to any regular telephone. Several companies like Net2Phone and Deltathree.com allow surfers to make phone calls from their PCs to phones for a small charge. At DialPad.com, a Silicon Valley startup, calls to anywhere in the U.S. are totally free. It sounds too good to be true. I had to try it out. Here is my experience.

The Hardware

Using eBay, I bought a headset (earphones and a microphone) for $6.50 plus $3.50 shipping. (Electronics stores like Radio Shack sell similar headsets for $20 - $30). My 400 MHz PII with 128K RAM sports a high quality sound card (Sound Blaster Live!). The operation system: Windows 98. In addition, I bought a short Radio Shack splitter cable ($5.29) that allows sounds coming from the sound card to feed both the speakers and earphones in the headset. The back of the sound card accepts the jacks from the headset/splitter providing easy installation. Perhaps the most important component is having a reliable connection to the Internet. My cable modem from Charter Cable provides a broadband 256 kbps pipe.

DialPad.com

When arriving at the www.dialpad.com website, the first step requires registration. The two page form is less intrusive than a JUNO sign-up. After a small download of the DialPad software (a Java application), I joined the ranks of 3.5 million people who use Dialpad. (A late version Netscape or Internet Explorer browser is needed). Next, I linked an icon to the desktop that allows one click access to the DialPad website. I was in business.

After logging onto the site (User Name and Password must be entered), click "my phonebook." Enter the names and phone numbers (include 1 plus area code) for ease of use. The dialpad accepts keypad dialing entry, but I found this a bit cumbersome. On the left side of the phone directory, a "dial dot," when clicked, brings up the profile. Click the "Phone Call" button. In the headset, the sound of dialing enters the earphones followed by a ringing of the regular telephone. The first time user often finds this experience overwhelming with this power only previously reserved for phone hackers. This technology is fascinating.

The Very First Call

When dealing with telephony technology of this magnitude, it is a good idea to tread slowly, at least initially. In my case, the first call was to my normal house phone. (Non cable modem users will be out of luck if they only have one phone line to the Internet.) Immediately one experiences the effects of latency - the time delay resulting from the computer generated TCP/IP packets finding their way through the Internet, bridging to the PSTN (public switched telephone network), and arriving at a regular telephone. Packets travelling over the Internet are subject to delays when Net traffic builds. (Note: Phone calls made during midday hours may be disappointing.) When I picked up the telephone, the circuit had been completed and I knew that everything worked - hardware, software, and Internet connection. I was ready to move on.

The experience of DialPad conversations closely resembles a "cell phone" quality. Listening through the headset provides clear communication. At this stage in the technology, the conversations tend to be choppy due mostly to latency effects. On occasion, the listener using the telephone will ask the I-caller to repeat a phrase or sentence. Generally, the quality of the connection improves with time. However, overall, the experience is surprisingly good.

Important Considerations

A high quality, full duplex, sound card is one of the cornerstones for successful conversations. In addition, a 200+ MHz processor is recommended. A 56K modem connection to the ISP (Internet Service Provider) ensures speedy packets to the Information Highway onramp. Optimum time for calling is in the evening or early morning when net traffic is low.

Infancy

The concept of free Internet long distance phone calls is new. DialPad has grown from zero users to 3.5 million since October 1999! Because of the pell-mell growth get braced for those times when everything seems to go wrong. Nothing works. I experienced times when the phone would ring in the headset yet the telephone on the other end would not rang. At other times, the line would die in the middle of a telephone conversation. However, there have also been times when I had long conversations (conditions were ideal) with few "say again!" snippets interrupting the flow of conversation. Right now, this technology should not be attempted by the easily frustrated. Over time, as the quality improves, we are certain to witness wider acceptance of this minor miracle. DialPad holds the promise of becoming "the JUNO" of the telephone lines. Give it a try.

Other websites that offer paid PC to telephone calls are: CallRewards (www.callrewards.com), DeltaThree (www.deltathree.com), MediaRing.com (www.mediaring.com), Net.Caller (www.accesspower.com) and Net2Phone (www.net2phone.com). Frankly, FREE has a nice ring to it.

URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) of interest:

http://www.dialpad.com

http://www.ebay.com

Note: This is the 195th of a series of elementary articles designed for surfing the Internet. Next, Napster is the subject on tap. Stay Tuned. Until next week, happy travels through cyberspace. Previous issues of Internet Info for Real People can be found: http://www.thebee.com. Please e-mail comments and suggestions: rbrand@JUNO.com or editor@thebee.com.