Free Phone Calls Via the Net
You've got to love this. Call anywhere in the country, for as long as you like, for free. The trick is, you don't place the call with your telephone, you do it through your computer. Just log on to a website called Dialpad.com. Dialpad CEO Hyunduk Ahn....
"All the web users can come to our site, register and sign up for free and we have this very light Java applet and through it people can make free phone calls to anywhere inside the U.S. to any phone numbers."
It will work best if you use a headset with a microphone and you need at least a 33.6 modem on a Windows based computer. After you've signed up, all you have to do is enter phone numbers into your address book or point and click to dial.... (sound) The quality isn't as good as a regular phone line...but it isn't bad....
"No, we're not claiming that it's regular phone quality but it's very comparable to cell phone quality. I think it's actually a little better than cell phone quality."
Dialpad has partnered with GTE to deliver the service. How do they make money? Through targeted banner ads that you see on screen while you make your calls.