Just as we were preparing this piece, all Internet users received a E-mail from VSNL -- who are the only Internet Service Providers in India -- stating that selling Internet Telephony by offering low tariffs was illegal and violative of the terms and conditions of the Internet subscription.

On the Internet there is a practice of posting FAQ's or Frequently Asked Questions. So let me also anticipate some questions and answer them.

Does this mean that I can use the Internet as a telephone?
Yes and No. If you have the right kind of computer hardware, special software, an Internet account, you can actually speak to any regular telephone-user over the Internet. No, because it is illegal in India.

How does this work and is the sound quality good?
In the computer and communication world there is a concept known as digitising, which means converting sound and pictures in to digital data (Digital data is the world of ones & Zeroes in computers). All audio programmes digitise your speech and send it over the Internet in a compressed form as packets of data. Unfortunately, there is a limitation of most modem and its connection to transmit data as they do not have this capacity. There are a variety of methods for encoding and compressing sound data. The quality of the audio you'll send and receive depends on the application you're using, the speed of your computer and the compression method used. However, the sound quality varies dramatically between applications and depends largely on the local capacity at each end. In nearly all cases, the limiting factor will not be the speed and capacity of the Internet, but will depend on your hardware, the P&T network and the quality of the network and hardware at the other end.

Can both the parties talk at the same time?
This depends on your hardware. There is a concept of Full Duplex and Half Duplex. In Full Duplex Mode it is possible for you to have a regular type of conversation. In Half Duplex mode only one person can talk at a time.

Let me tell you of an interesting development which will convince you that the world of computers is really exciting. It is a product, let us call XYZ by Falah Falah Co. XYZ allows you to make a call from a PC to any telephone in the world! XYZ is a technology, which makes it possible to place domestic and international calls from a personal computer to any telephone in the world. XYZ is so far the most advanced telecommunications application harnessing the global power of the Internet.

How does XYZ work?
XYZ enables any Internet user with a sound-equipped PC to initiate calls from a computer and transmit them over the Internet to Falah Falah Co's central telephone switch. The switch instantly and automatically relays the call to its final destination -- any telephone. The result is real time-uninterrupted, voice communication between two parties. XYZ dramatically reduces telephone bills of the cost of traditional long distance calls. Because the signal is carried over the Internet until it reaches Falah Falah Co, US-based phone switches, rates are not dependent upon the county of origin. In effect, all calls originate in the US. This means users pay little for calls to the United States from anywhere in the world.

With XYZ, any phone can be reached via a PC. No longer are users limited to PC-to-PC technology which requires both parties to have access to Multimedia-equipped computers running identical software. It is no longer necessary for both parties to be online at the time of the call either by coincidence or pre-arrangement. Only the caller needs a PC with an Internet connection.