Internet Voice, also known as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), is a technology that allows telephone calls to be made using a broadband Internet connection instead of a regular (or analog) phone line. Voice Over IP takes a voice and breaks it down into tiny bits of data and sends it over the Internet to another location. At its destination the bits are reassembled back into a voice. Voices are treated like any other piece of Internet data, such as a Web page or audio file, distributed over the Net.

Traditional long distance calling requires using a telephone to dial a long distance phone number. The call goes through the local telephone company to the long distance provider who charges a connection fee and per minute charge. This is billed monthly on the person's long distance phone bill. Depending on the service, one way to place a Voice Over IP call is to pick up a regular telephone and dial the number, using an adaptor that connects to an existing high-speed Internet connection. The call goes through the local telephone company to a Voice Over IP provider. The phone call goes over the Internet to the called party's local telephone company for the completion of the call. The long distance telephone company has been circumvented and long distance phone charges eliminated from the phone bill.

Today, VoIP transmissions constitute up to ten percent of all calls made in the United States, with estimates of up to 2.5 million U.S. subscribers. By 2006, it is anticipated that well over 7 million VoIP units will be in circulation. It's all part of a big trend to make voice calling just another service provided over an Internet connection. Because future phone service won't depend on a dedicated phone network, the telecom world will be forever altered. The old one was about connecting places. The new one is about connecting people.