Depending upon your service, you might be limited only to other subscribers to the service, or you may be able to call anyone who has a telephone number - including local, long distance, mobile, and international numbers. If you are calling someone who has a regular analog phone, that person does not need any special equipment to talk to you. Some VoIP services may allow you to speak with more than one person at a time.

Some VoIP services offer features and services that are not available with a traditional phone, or are available but only for an additional fee. You may also be able to avoid paying for both a broadband connection and a traditional telephone line.

If you're considering replacing your traditional telephone service with VoIP, there are some possible differences: Some VoIP services don't work during power outages and the service provider may not offer backup power. Not all VoIP services connect directly to emergency services through 9-1-1. For additional information, see www.voip911.gov.

Instead of using traditional land lines to make voice calls, you use a broadband connection to the Internet and thereby by-pass telephone company services AND charges. More about regular phone service versus VOIP. Another big advantage to VOIP is that you receive incoming calls to your VOIP phone no matter where you are in the world. The caller always dials the same number, but you could be in Paris, Montreal, or Timbuktu.