Wired Voice Over IP (VOIP)

You don't need to miss out on the cost savings with Skype and other "VOIP" (Voice Over Internet Protocol) telephone call providers.

If you have a PC and a broadband connection you can use a standard microphone and headphones, or a USB headset or USB phone. These are readily available from suppliers such as Dabs , eBuyer or Maplin .

If you want to use an existing (wired) phone you will need an VOIP network adapter such as the Linksys PAP2T available from suppliers such as broadbandbuyer.co.uk . You will need the US to UK phone adapter cables (around 85p inc. VAT) as well. You simply plug your existing telephone into the UK phone socket end of the US to UK phone adapter, plug the US end into the network adapter and connect the network adapter into your (wired) router using a CAT5e lan (patch) cable. You will need to configure the adapter to work with your specific VOIP supplier e.g. Vonage , but that is specific to the VOIP network adapter you buy and the network you sign up with.