Can I configure mobile VoIP on my company smartphone?

Can I configure mobile VoIP on my company smartphone?

My company doesn't support mobile VoIP but since I travel frequently, I would like to configure my smartphone to make VoIP calls while I'm away. Is this something I could do myself? If so, how?

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Absolutely. Mobile VoIP is gaining popularity now, but these services are more likely to be sought out by individuals than provided by employers. Of course, companies face increasing pressure to bring their mobile costs down especially as smart phones become more widely used. Not only are international calls expensive, but data plans to enable web browsing and remote email access can be very costly. Mobile VoIP is certainly one way to bring those costs down, but for now, the onus will typically fall to the end user.

Regardless of who your mobile carrier is, you will most certainly need to look elsewhere, and you're not like to get much help from them in finding a mobile VoIP service. The good news is that the market has seen a rush from these offerings in the past year, and there are dozens to choose from. Most are built to reduce or eliminate both roaming and long distance charges, and if you do a lot of international calling, a bit of homework here would be time well spent.

Even a quick Google search will turn up many mobile VoIP services, but I'm not going to name any here -- it wouldn't be fair to all the others out there. What I will say is that you should learn first about the basic types of mobile VoIP services. Some will only work with a WiFi connection, some require both parties to call a common number, and yet others call you back once your party is connected. If your smartphone is WiFi-enabled, you can use pretty much any service out there, and then it's really a matter of choosing the type of mobile VoIP service that suits your situation.

Ask Jon your most pressing VoIP questions.

This was first published in September 2008