With the advent of fast broadband connections to the internet at a price affordable for all, the next major telecommunications revolution is the broadband phone call.

Broadband phone calls work like this. Rather than call your friend (in your state, country or abroad) using a voice line, you use a piece of software on your computer and make the call over the internet. Because you have already paid for your broadband connection, making a broadband phone call should, in theory, cost you nothing (other than perhaps the price of the software).

Some companies now offer telephones that can make calls over the internet without the use of computer, offering call charges substantially lower than traditional rates. This allows those without a PC to make a broadband phone call.

There are a wide variety of companies that offer the broadband phone call service. In the US, try Vonage. In the UK, try Skype. If you and the person you are calling have an Apple Mac, try the free iChatAV.