Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP for short, is a class of hardware and software that enables the Internet to be used by people as a medium of transmission for phone calls.  In place of the traditional POTS circuits, voice data are now sent in packets using VoIP.  With VoIP, you will not be charged for telephone calls on the internet beyond the fee charged for internet access. This is a fantastic cost saving, but some more involved services like reverse phone number searching will still demand a premium cost.

Another term for VoiP is "Voice over IP " as it is simply a way of using the internet for telephone conversations.  The two big motivations of this are cost and convenience, conventional phone services are more expensive and are not as fast as VoIP.

The benefits of VoIP include:

You can make phone calls at reduced rate:  I guess no one will refuse the opportunity of making phone calls at cheap rate slip by.  The services offered by service providers varies, some offer free long distance calls, while others charge a token.

Among the benefits you will also enjoy at no cost are added features:  The features that others charge to provide are often provided at no cost with VoIP services. These features include Voicemail, Call Forwarding, Call Waiting, Call Transfer, etc and they are all free with VoIP. Additional freebies include business features like email and web utilities.

Your area code can also be chosen:  VoIP allows you to select your own phone number and area codes.  To know how to retain your old number is to simply transfer it into your new VoIP service, or you can alternatively decide to pick a new one albeit, based on the area code.

VOIP communications with the skype wi-fi phone technology.