It's always been AT&T and the Bell Companies. They have been in control for a very long time. But just like TV took advertisers away from radio, the Internet is taking phone service away from the old monopolies like AT&T and Bell. It's always been AT&T and the Bell Companies. They have been in control for a very long time. They have been able to decide what you pay for telephone service and what you pay for long distance. Just like TV took advertisers away from radio, the Internet is taking phone service away from the old monopolies like AT&T and Bell.

The phone company giants are trembling. They are filing court cases. Their lawyers are working overtime trying to stop the tide of people who are switching from traditional telephone service to VOIP. When the giants are scared, you know we are onto something big.

What is VOIP?

"Voice over Internet Protocol - A category of hardware and software that enables people to use the Internet as the transmission medium for telephone calls. Voice data is sent in packets using rather than by traditional POTS circuits. One advantage of VoIP is that the telephone calls over the Internet do not incur a surcharge beyond what the user is paying for Internet access, much in the same way that the user doesn't pay for sending individual e-mails over the Internet."

That is the explanation that is getting many people to switch to VOIP. You pay for Internet access. You send all the email you want to even though the US postal service had wanted to control it and charge you money for each email. That didn't happen. The fact that the Internet's definition is International Network keeps the US Postal Service from having any control over it.

The big phone companies would like to be able to charge for every phone call made using VOIP, but again, they do not control it. Don't count them out. They are trying. However, history shows if you try to control or get in the way to block progress, you lose in the long run.

VOIP is here to stay. You can make calls over VOIP without telephone charges and most of all without the normal FCC taxes you see on your telephone bill each month. There are VOIP services available for $ 20 per month out there that include your normal phone service and all of your Long Distance.

If I use VOIP, who can I call? According to one vendor's website, "Anyone and everyone! Any local phone, mobile phone, long distance, or international number