Skype calls are cheap, reliable

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ST. LOUIS - I can't believe I haven't written about this before: Skype, a free Internet chat service, which also offers super-cheap calls to regular telephones, is a magical addition to the computing world.

The software is free; using it over a broadband Internet connection will let you chat with other users, regardless of platforms. As of March, Skype, which is based in London and Tallinn, Estonia, claims 29 million downloads of its program and 1 million customers of its optional pay-to-call-regular-phones service.

Sitting a half-mile from the Mississippi River and the famous Gateway Arch, I was sending written instant messages to my wife back home in Rockville. Suddenly, I remembered Skype, and suggested she download the software. She got busy on her PC, I was doing the same on my Mac, and we were chatting away without hassle, and for free, or essentially so. We have high-speed Internet at home, and my hotel supplied the service as part of the room rate.

This is similar to a voice-over-Internet Protocol, or VoIP, call. Traditional VoIP services such as Vonage and Lingo -- and a new one from AOL -- involve a box that bridges a traditional telephone and a high-speed network connection.

Here, the processing is done in the PC or Mac, but with the same result: Speech is converted into data packets, sent over the network to a destination and reassembled at the other end to become speech. With Lingo or Vonage, you pay a monthly fee. With Skype, computer-to-computer calls are free, while calls to regular phones are charged, but again at low rates.

The convenience of Skype is something else. After chatting with my spouse, I "rang" a friend in Riga, Latvia, who I noticed was available. Such a call would cost more than a few pennies the traditional way, but was free of cost to us. There is an immediacy and personal feel to a voice conversation that no instant messaging service can duplicate, which will be apparent to most users when they fire up the program the first time.

The Skype software (www.skype.com) is available for PCs, Macs, Linux systems and even Microsoft Pocket PC devices. Add an Internet connection and you're good to go, although you'll also need either a built-in microphone and speakers or an equivalent headset for conversation. The headset is a good idea if you're working in an office or want more privacy.

Once you find another user who is online, you simply click an on-screen button to call, and you'll hear a traditional telephone ring. If the other party answers, you're in business.

Sound quality can vary given the demands of network traffic. I'd imagine a Skype call from New York to Washington in the height of a workday might sound different from the same call placed at a more quiet time. However, there seems to be enough robustness in the software -- and the Internet -- to carry most calls clearly.

Having additional paid services -- a voice mail service is in a free Beta trial right now -- enhances the value of Skype as a business tool. Being able to place long-distance and overseas calls for less money than traditional services charge can help a small business grow, for example.