(NAPSA)—Consumers and businesses can now make highquality phone calls over the Internet without having to pay a penny. The free Internet Telephony product, developed by Skype, makes computers ring just like a phone and allowsfree calls between any users who have downloaded the software. It works globally, which means that people can call their friends and family or business associates abroad at no cost. So consumers can now spend hours speaking to family in Mexico or friends in Ireland, or wherever without a worry for the phonebill. The program essentially turns computers into phones with free unlimited, unmetered, high quality and highly secure phone calls. The software is easy to use and provides clear connections to anyone with a broadband connection and a basic PC headset or handset. How It Works When people on the Skype network call each other, the call trav- els directly between their computers, instead of having to pass through central services. To do this it uses a technology called peer-topeer (P2P), which cleverly finds the person you want to speak to over the network and puts a call into them on their computer. The interface is simple to navigate and making a call is as simple as clicking on a person’s user name. Everyone who downloads Skype automatically gets added to the user-built global directory which is rapidly expanding, and finding friends and family to call in the directory is simple. “Currently there are more than 2.5 million users from over 200 countries already making these free calls,” explained Skype, the company that developed the system. Experts point out that now that voice is on the Net, it can be manipulated in more ways than with traditional phone calls, and IT’S FOR YOU—making calls over the Internet essentially makes your computer do what a phone does—only better. predict this will lead to rapid inno- vation and improvement in voice communication. At Home For the consumer who uses the system at home, it turns any computer or Internet device into a high-quality telephone that can make and receive free, unlimited calls across town or across the world. Considering the average American household spends nearly a thousand dollars a year on telecommunications, that sort of savings can come in handy. At The Office The softwareis easy to install in the workplace and requires no special configuration. It also can be used behind most firewalls and gateways, without any security risks. The program helps businesses get the best return on investment in computers and broadband and even has the potential to eliminate more than 90 percent of toll-calling bills. The peerto-peer architecture also frees a company from having to buy and maintain much equipment, because it’s a system that relies entirely on the computersof individual users. Learn More For more information about Internet Telephony or to download the software, visit www.skype.com.
