Today it is not unheard of to have your telephone service on the Internet.  With today’s broadband offerings and the Internet companies getting into the telephony business, unlimited calling is almost the norm.  In fact, I find it funny that back in the day (and still today) the telephone companies were the ones who got into the Internet game.  Now the cable and Internet companies are in the telephony game.  Hmm.

Anyhow, if you have a good Internet connection, you actually have some free or cheap options.  One of those options that has been popular is Skype.  I’m here to tell you that you ought to try out a service called Sipgate and I have a few reasons.

1.  Make Calls From Your Computer (Even Via Google Voice)

With Sipgate, you can make calls from your computer.  They give you a phone number (hopefully a local one) and you go from there.  Incoming calls are free and that’s a clincher.

Outgoing calls are not free but very reasonable.  Don’t worry though because apparently you can attach your Google Voice number and call out for free that way.

Check out this article walking you through the process but the idea is simple.  Once you figure out how to attach the numbers, dial out from Google Voice which will ring your free Sipgate number, answer the call using your Sipgate number, and the phone will ring the person you are calling.  It works the other way too (receive calls to your Google Voice number via your Sipgate phone).  Such a cloud phone service is truly a marvel of free telephony.

2.  Send & Receive Free Faxes

Working from home is good but since I don’t have a landline phone number, I have never invested in a fax machine.  With Sipgate, that issue is done away with.  I can send and receive free faxes all from my computer.  In fact, having this ability also cuts down on the paper waste of junk faxes.

There are several options as to how to put together your faxes.  You can design it like a cloud phone service or upload a PDF to fax.  Oh, and you can also set faxes to be sent at whatever time you like.

It’s a win-win situation, if you ask me.  And it’s free to boot.

3.  Make It Work With Any Phone (Standard, VoIP, Or Computer)

Who wants to give up the old school landline phone they’ve been using all these years?  Sipgate will work with that phone so don’t worry.  In fact, Sipgate offers some flexibility in this area.  You can use your old phone (with the appropriate converter), you can use a SIP phone, VoIP, or a soft phone.  Or you can use your computer.

Sipgate doesn’t sell any of these soft, VoIP, or SIP phones but they do have a list of suggested phones for you.  Aren’t they nice to do that?

Not only can you make and receive calls for free (if done right and you have an Internet connection), but you can also make and receive faxes for free and even help save the trees by cutting down on printed junk faxes.

What online cloud phone services do you use in order to save money on telephony?  Do you have another service for sending and receiving free faxes?  Please share in the comments.