Back when I first started playing with VoIP, I would use whatever VoIP calling method I could. Partially to save money, partially because it was the latest shiny toy. I set up Sipura (now Linksys) ATAs, hacked the Open-Source PBX Asterisk, and signed up with every VoIP service known to man. I suffered through some quality issues on some early calls, but man, I was using VoIP because I could and it was cheap.

Nowadays, I don't use VoIP just to save money and just because. I use it because it solves a need. Tools like Skype and Gizmo Project make it dirt simple to see if someone's online, check to see if their busy, then connect and talk-nearly instantly. I use Skype to join my work-related conference calls because I usually need to be at my computer anyway, the sound quality is good, and I can join the calls for free thanks to the North America Unlimited plan I bought.

As someone who lives in the US with easy access to cheap telecommunications services, cost is almost a non-issue. However, as I was reminded recently, in many places throughout the world, particularly in third-world countries, there is no competition for calling services. The government owns the telecommunications services and charges usurious rates because they can. A number of companies in these countries deploy VoIP-often under the radar of the governments-and charge a fraction of what it costs to make a call from a landline.

For poor inhabitants of a third-world nation, cheap calling is the only way they can afford to stay in touch. Cost still counts for something. Is cheap calling enough for you? Or is it something else about VoIP? Leave your thoughts in the comments.