Newest Find: Jajah.com for Long-Distance Calling

So, VoIP seems to be the newest way to save a buck or two and screw over Bell (or Rogers in my case) at the same time. There are a couple of routes to go if you’re interested in calling over the Internet. For the moment, I’ve decided that I’m not ready to throw in the landline towel become a Vonage customer (Ted Rogers is breathing a sigh of relief, I’m sure).

I have, however, been turning the screws slightly on Ted’s stranglehold of my telecommunication options. I found a website where I can get the benefits of cheap long distance without getting rid of my phone. You see, if you’re interested in VoIP and not interested in Vonage, there’s the computer alternative of Skype or the like. The problem with that is you need to be attached to your computer with a headset. IMHO, there’s nothing more geeky than speaking to someone using a boom mic. Can’t really place it, but I have to imagine there’s some genetic reason for it.

OK, so back to this website. Entering your home number, the number you want to call and clicking OK causes your phone to ring. You pick it up, and a nice silicon sally announces you’re being connected. Quality of the connection is great–on the whole better than Vonage and Skype (and other software solutions I’ve tried). Rates seem to be good too. A call to an Ontario number is 0.0140 euros a min. That works out to ~ 2 Canadian cents. I’ve used it for over an hour of calls and owe about 1 euro, or $1.40 CAD. Additionally, you don’t pay prior to using the service: you get a bill based on use. Haven’t experienced how easy it is to pay, so can’t really comment. But would a company make it hard to pay them? Naaah…