My VoIP Provider - VoIP Services -

Almost 14 years ago the first commercially available "Internet Phone" was presented at the German IT fair CEBIT in 1994 by the company Vocaltec and released for sale to the public on the 15 February 1995 for $69.

This little application was way ahead of its time and apparently worked pretty well on 33.6 dial-up connections using Windows or Mac - something hard to believe in our broadband age.

All credit goes to the pioneer developers of this software, who without realizing the significance at the time, launched the multi billion dollar VoIP industry.

 

A few weeks ago we came across earthcaller.com offering free VoIP calls to US and Canadian numbers.

Now the developers ( Jaduka.com) have launched a new web activated service called Duka Dial offering the same free calls to the US and Canada. It is mainly targeted at US and Canadian residents as you require an incomming North American number to use the service, but there are ways and means to get hold of a free US number and forward this number to your current phone where ever you are in the world.

All you need to do is register (for free), enter the number you wish to call, enter your number and click the "Start" button. This works for both landline and mobile numbers.

Terrasip.com announced today that they would be reducing their alreaday dirt cheap call rates by a further 10%. This would make them one of the cheapest VoIP services in the world. As an added bonus calls to 50 destinations around the world are free of charge provided you have a balance in your account of 0.01 US$ or more.

The Free destinations are for example: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, India, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Portugal, Poland, Russia, United Kingdom, USA and more.

A complete list of free destinations is available on the TerraSip homepage and you can use either Terrasip's softphone or any SIP compatible ATA to make the calls.

With over 1500 VoIP providers worldwide we thought it was about time that we have a look at the popularity of these VoIP services and identify the most successfull (at least according to Alexa.com). Most succesfull in this case means the sites with the most traffic and not the most financially viable.

From our VoIP directory of 1500 VoIP providers from around the world we identified the 80 most visited sites and ranked them according the the data from Alexa.com. We only considered pure VoIP services and not cable companies or triple play offerings.

Although the top position was no surprise, obviously Skype , the second rank already caused some raised eyebrows. No - Vonage is only the third most popular, the second place goes to a relatively unknown PC to Phone provider from the UK - Globe7.com . The majority of the Top 80 VoIP services are from either the US or Germany, which comes as a surprise as well. A closer look reveals that a single company from Germany - the budget VoIP provider - Betamax.com - owns in total 19 of theTop 80 VoIP domains. These companies include nonoh.net (Rank 4), justvoip.com (Rank 8), voipbuster.com (Rank 9), voipcheap.com (Rank 11) and 15 others.

Another interesting company from Germany comming in at position 5 and worth mentioning is Peterzahlt.de . This is a genuine free web activated service with calls to 40 destinations costing absolutly nothing. The drawback is that you need a German, Austrian or Swiss phone number to be able to use this service.  Earthcaller.com from the US also offers no strings attached free calls to landline numbers in the US and Canada. This company is only a few months old and already ranked 45th.

Fring.com and Mobivox.com are the most popular mobile VoIP providers and already 10 different mobile VoIP services are present in the Top 80. The most recent newcomer in the Top 80 is a mobile VoIP startup from South Africa of all places - Yeigo.com . With the mobile VoIP industry expected to grow exponentially within the next 12-24 months you will see quite a bit of movement in the rankings from these mobile providers.

	Rank	Alexa Rank	Country	Service Type
Skype	1	422	Luxembourg	PC to Phone
Globe7	2	1100	UK	PC to Phone
Vonage	3	4605	USA	Broadband
Nonoh	4	11085	Germany	Webactivated
Peterzahlt	5	12924	Germany	Webactivated
Jajah	6	14154	USA	Web activated
Ringcentral	7	16845	USA	Broadband
Justvoip	8	17038	Germany	PC to Phone
Voipbuster	9	17505	Germany	PC to Phone
Fring	10	18691	Israel	Mobile
Voipcheap.com	11	22647	Germany	PC to Phone
Voipwise	12	23890	Germany	PC to Phone
Net2phone	13	26270	USA	PC to Phone
Voipstunt	14	27257	Germany	PC to Phone
Gizmo Project	15	28179	USA	Web activated
Lowratevoip	16	31546	Germany	PC to Phone
Voipdiscount	17	32025	Germany	PC to Phone
Freecall	18	34199	Germany	PC to Phone
Mobivox	19	34289	Canada	Mobile
12Voip	20	36976	Germany	PC to Phone
Packet8	21	39010	USA	Broadband
Tokiva	22	41080	Canada	Mobile
Eqo.com	23	44981	Canada	Mobile
Rebtel	24	51228	Luxembourg	Mobile
Sipgate	25	51461	Germany	Broadband
Internetcalls	26	53291	Germany	PC to Phone
Tpad	27	59378	UK	PC to Phone
Voip.com	28	61101	USA	Broadband
Voipraider	29	63364	Germany	PC to Phone
Vonage - Canada	30	63890	Canada	Broadband
Nimbuzz	31	65900	Netherlands	Broadband
Mediaring	32	66653	Singapore	Broadband
Webcalldirect	33	89344	Germany	Web Activated
Euteliavoip	34	93123	Italy	Broadband
Poivy	35	95214	Germany	Pc to Phone
Sightspeed	36	99234	USA	Broadband
Smsdiscount	37	100097	Germany	PC to Phone
Broadvoice	38	101377	USA	Broadband
Lingo	39	101411	USA	Broadband
iCallcentric	40	102924	USA	Broadband
Viatalk.com	41	103490	USA	Broadband
Vbuzzer	42	104491	Canada	PC to Phone
Inphonex	43	108165	USA	Broadband
iConnecthere	44	110220	USA	PC to Phone
Earthcaller	45	111279	USA	Web Activated
Truphone	46	112586	UK	Mobile
Vonage UK	47	114765	UK	Broadband
iSkoot	48	117360	USA	Mobile
iCall	49	121592	USA	Broadband
Wengophone	50	142262	France	PC to Phone
Acanac	51	142897	Canada	Broadband
Brujula	52	148947	Argentina	Broadband
Vyke	53	151920	Norway	Broadband
Freeworlddialup	54	152112	USA	VoIP Peering
Sipgate - UK	55	167726	UK	Broadband
Pennytel	56	177722	Australia	PC to Phone
Voipbusterpro	57	178937	Germany	PC to Phone
Phone.com	58	179758	USA	Broadband
Netappel	59	181152	Germany	PC to Phone
PC-Telephone	60	200653	Bulgaria	PC to Phone
Carpo	61	201984	Germany	Broadband
Symmy	62	214775	Unknown	Mobile
Terrasip	63	214831	Spain	Broadband
Ooma	64	222801	USA	Broadband
Voipcheap.co.uk	65	228879	Germany	PC to Phone
i-Call	66	230603	Greece	Broadband
Gradwell	67	231352	UK	Broadband
Minowireless	68	231144	USA	Broadband
Peoplecall	69	235919	Spain	PC to Phone
Sparvoip	70	245868	Germany	PC to Phone
Joiphone	71	256657	USA	Broadband
Talkster	72	256887	Canada	Mobile
Aql	73	258984	UK	Broadband
Voipax	74	261045	Germany	PC to Phone
Voipyourlife	75	261753	USA	Broadband
Mywebcalls	76	280783	UK	PC to Phone
Gotalk	77	296544	Australia	Broadband
Yeigo	78	303666	South Africa	Mobile
Vox Telecom	79	309917	South Africa	Broadband
dus.net	80	313585	Germany	Broadban

_{Note: The Ranking is based on Alexa data from the 05 February 2008}

A few companies which just missed the cut include webacall.com from Greece, Voicepulse.com from the US, iCallglobe.com and Barablu.com from the UK.

Should we have missed any VoIP service which you feel must belong in this list of the Top 80 VoIP services please contact us and forward the details. We will include it for the following month.

A great summary of websites and tools from around the web to find and utilize WiFi hotspots as well as making those free VoIP calls.

BT Openzone - Users can surf broadband internet with their Wi-Fi enabled laptops, in cafes, hotels and other public places in UK, Ireland and other parts of world.

DeviceScape - Users can connect mobile devices to hotspots and Wi-Fi networks.

Free Wireless Internet and Broadband Internet - Directory of Free Wi-Fi locations all over Australia.

HotSpotr - User generated listings of Wi-Fi Cafes and Hotspots across the US and other parts of world.

Hotspot1 - Bringing communities of hotspot users together.

Hot Spot AirDump - Country-wide search for free hotspot locations in Britain.

Hotspot-Locations - A global database of hotspot locations. The database covers commerical hotspots as well as free WiFi locations.

The HotSpot Directory - Another directory listing search of Wi-Fi hotspots for corporate and end-users.

HotSpot Haven - Quick search engine results for users seeking a Wi-Fi hotspot for internet access. Filtering options include wireless providers and selection of venues like airports, cafes for search.

ilovefreewifi - Community listing of free Wi-Fi hotspots over United States.

JiWire - Comprehensive search engine indexing Wi-Fi hotspots from all over the world.

Lessnetworks.com - Community of users driving the goal of free Wi-Fi together.

Loose Connection - Free Wi-Fi hotspot listings in cafes and bars across South of England.

Meraki - Meraki’s goal is to provide wireless internet to user groups worldwide.

MobiTV - The first mobile television and digital radio service provider for cellular, Wi-Fi and broadband enabled devices worldwide.

myHotspots - Locate Wi-Fi hotspots from over 6500 locations in the UK by entering area codes of towns.

OpenWifiSpots - Listing and guides of where the public can find and add free Wi-Fi internet access hotspots.

PlaceSite - Community-driven concept based on people accessing the internet in free Hotspots close to each other.

Portland WiFi hotspots - WiFi hotspots directory for users in Portland, Oregon.

T-Mobile - To view the Hotspots closest to you enter your details in the box. Users do not have to complete every entry, they can search by zipcodes for example.

WiFi411 - Search for free as well as paid listings of Wi-Fi Hotspots all over the world.

Google Map-powered Sites

atlarge.com - Search for Wi-Fi connections in airports all over the globe.

8zero2 - An easy to use search site for free and commercial Wi-Fi hotspots in United States either through maps or by address.

Cup of NYC - Another service using Google Maps to list Wi-Fi enabled coffee shops in New York.

FindmesomeWifi.com - Extensive database utilizing Google maps to display worldwide Wi-Fi hotspots.

gWifi.net - Free Wi-Fi locator service using Google maps.

Realtime WiFi Map for Montreal - Excellent service enabling users to search for Wi-Fi locations in Canada via Google Maps.

WeFi - A downloadable service that allows visitors to search for Wi-Fi spots and other users of the service.

Others

AnchorFree WiFi - Users are provided free hotspot routers and in return they allow others to get online with their internet connection in the United States.

FON - The worlds largest Wi-Fi Community where users are provided with free Wi-Fi routers to build a shared community of free Wi-Fi access.

Skyhook Wireless - Not exactly a Wi-Fi internet provider; Skyhook is a Wi-Fi based position system for mobile device owners in the United States.

All credits go to mashable.com

 

Until a few months ago allfreecalls.net used to allow unlimited free calls to landlines in around 30-40 countries around the world. They managed this through a loophole in the US system by cashing in on phone subsidies from "rural" states in the US.

Now, after being shutdown by AT&T in February 2007 they have just relaunched their service under the name yak4ever.com. The difference is now that all users have to register to become"members of the club" and have to provide uo to 10 phone numbers from the countries on offer. These calls will again be free and aparently no catch. It seems to work.

The countries yak4free.net now serve are:

Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil (Rio De Janerio), Canada, China, Christmas & Coco’s Island, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Poland (Warsaw), Portugal, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, UK and USA

 

Oh dear - when one of the oldest and most respected VoIP providers decides the shut down their services then one should start wondering.

Early April 2007 Stanaphone.com closed their doors for new retail customers and may start focusing on the business market instead - that is if you believe the brief statement on their website.

It is not an easy market to be in and with international call rates dropping monthly any new VoIP services will require deep, very deep pockets or exiting new features. New features are hard to come by so it will most likely boil down to offering even cheaper calls with smaller margins to attract new customers.

The selection is already so overwhelming with over 1500 providers to choose from.

However there may still be a large untapped market for mobile VoIP services. This could be the real growth market for 2007 to 2010.

This week Betamax in Germany launched yet another online VoIP service, adding to the previous 13 or 14 services already available (Voipbuster,VoIPCheap etc) - SMSDiscount.com .

Whilst this is no longer a newsworthy event, this time Betamax have added a dirtcheap web based SMS service. Using SMSDiscount it is now possible to send SMS's to many destinations around the world (around 50-60 countries) for 0.01 Euro. This is cheap, very cheap in any language and will most certainly cause considerable headaches with mainly European mobile services, known for their very expensive SMS rates.

The drawback is obviously that you are bound to your PC to send these SMS's. If you send only the odd SMS here and there this is not for you. Should you be a heavy user, or have teenagers draining your phone accounts then this may be an alternative solution.

 

Will Vonage be around in a few months time? They may have chunks of cash stacked away, but this will not last forever if their legal battle with Verizon draws out for any protracted period of time.

Vonage customers need not be worried. There are so many alternative VoIP services to choose from in the US and Canada ( Selecting from over 250 VoIP providers is not an easy task) that making the right choice is probably going to cause more of a headache. It is probably best to contact a few of them and drop a hint that you are a current Vonage customer and are looking to change providers and be rest assured that you new service will make a plan to accommodate you quickly. A number of the smaller providers are already offering specials for Vonage customers willing to change.

A few of them may drop the activation fee just to get your business and many of them are already slighly cheaper on the monthly charges.

Please note that the Vonage ATA (adapter) will not work with any new VoIP providers as the ATA's supplied by Vonage are locked into their service. Here again many of the VoIP alternatives to Vonage will send you a new ATA free of charge. What will take more time and may be a problem is porting the old Vonage number to the new VoIP provider. It may take a week or so and not be quite hassle free.

Below is a list of the top alternative VoIP services in the US and Canada (excluding cable operators). The providers have been ranked according to the cost for the first 12 months or service.

	Provider	Adapter included?	Monthly Cost	Shipping	Special	Country	First Year Cost
Sunrocket.com		Yes	$16.60 (Yearly Contract =$199)	Shipping: Free Setup: Free	3 Months Free	USA	$199
Voip.com		Yes	$16.95 (Yearly Contract =$203)	Shipping: $9.95 Setup: $29.95	None	USA	$242.90
Allo.com		No $49 Extra	$16.60 (Yearly Contract =$199)	Shipping: Free Setup: Free	First Month Free	Canada	$248
Viatalk.com		Yes	$19.08 (Yearly Contract =$229)	Shipping: $9.95 Setup: $29.95	Second year Free	USA	$268.90
Zingotel.com		Yes	$19.95	Shipping: $9.95 Setup: $19.95	First Month Free	USA	$269.30
Axvoice.com		Yes	$18.99	Shipping: $14.95 Setup: $34.95	None	USA	$277.82
Broadvoice.com		Yes	$19.95	Shipping: $14.95 Setup: $39.95	Unlimited calls to 21 countries	USA	$294.30
Teliax.com		Yes	$24.99	Shipping: Free Setup: Free	None	USA	$299.88
Lingo.com		Yes	$21.95	Shipping: $9.95 Setup: $29.95	First Month Free	USA	$303.30
Packet8.com		Yes	$24.99	Shipping: Free Setup: $29.99	First Month Free	USA	$329.87
att.com		Yes	$24.99	Shipping: $9.95 Setup: $29.99	First Month Free	USA	$339.82
Inphonex.com		No $39.95 Extra	$24.95	Shipping: $8.25 Setup: 19.95	None	USA	$367.55
Quantumvoice.com		Yes	$29.99	Shipping: $9.95 Setup: $35.00	None	USA	$404.83 (includes Taxes)

 

For even a wider choice of VoIP services please check the following directory listings:

US VoIP Providers

Canadian VoIP Providers