| Many vendors can supply the software and services necessary to add VoIP to your mobile computer. Here are some of the most well-known VoIP vendors, along with a general idea of their charges: Note Essentially, the issues involved in adding VoIP to a mobile computer are the same as those involved in adding the capability to a desktop computer. In both cases, the computer needs to be connected via broadband to the Internet, whether via Wi-Fi to a hotspot, Wi-Fi through a private network, or via standard Ethernet cabling.
DeltaThree, http://www.deltathree.com, provides iConnectHere software and VoIP services with no-plan rates at about $.03 per minute worldwide (rates are lower with minimum purchase plans), and calls to other iConnectHere users are free altogether. Net2Phone, http://www.net2phone.com, provides VoIP software and services that is part of a package it calls CommCenter (see later in this chapter for more details). The portion of CommCenter most related to VoIP is called PC2Phone. Roughly speaking, calls cost $.02 per minute within the United States and $.03 worldwide. Skype, http://www.skype.com, (mentioned earlier) based in Luxembourg, offers worldwide calling at about $.02.03 per minute and free calling between computers using the Skype software. Vonage, http://www.vonage.com, also mentioned earlier as a leading provider of complete VoIP telephone systems, provides a software and service package called SoftPhone, which adds VoIP capability to your mobile computer or computers. The cost is an additional $10 per month for current Vonage subscribers and is not available to non-subscribers. (A typical Vonage plan costs $30 per month and features free calling within the United States.) One benefit of SoftPhone is that it works seamlessly with your other Vonage telephones. BroadVoice, http://www.broadvoice.com, has rate plans from $10 to $30 as well as a program to use the VoIP phone adapters from a variety of manufacturers. So, if you're not happy with one VoIP vendor, you can avoid equipment purchase costs when switching and use the same equipment with BroadVoice. BroadVoice soft phone support is available at $4 per month over the basic service. Telephone capability for your PC is provided by Microsoft Windows Messenger, a free download from Microsoft.
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