If you have relatives or family who live in Iran, it is extremely difficult to make long distance calls to them without racking up a huge phone bill. The introduction of VOIP and calling cards minimize these costs, allowing you to make free calls to Iran any time you want. This article will focus on the key advantages of these two remarkable technologies.
The first advantage of VOIP is that it allows you to save money. As long as you have a stable DSL internet connection that is connected on a regular basis, you will be able to make calls to anyone throughout the world. VOIP uses the internet as its backbone and compresses your voice into small data packets that are transferred from one location to the next. If you are already paying a monthly service for the internet, you would not need to pay extra for a land line phone.
There are many programs that use VOIP and the most common one is Skype. Skype is a free VOIP-based program that allows you to call anyone in the world. As long as the person you are trying to call has Skype, you can have conversations without any additional costs. There are a few extra bonus features built into Skype such as chatting and video conferencing ability, but its best when used to make calls.
An alternative to VOIP is using a calling card. Calling cards are prepaid minutes and allow you to call across the world at a fixed cost. Cheap calls to Iran for example, can be made by purchasing a card from a local phone store. The key advantage to using this method is portability. You can carry the card with you anywhere you go and use it whenever you want. However, once you run out of prepaid minutes, you will have to buy another one. Whether it is making calls to Iran or any other country in the world, VOIP is the most cost efficient method. Calling cards are also another option, but not as effective as VOIP.

