Talk can be cheap

You don't have to be a computer freak to find low-cost alternatives to calling friends in Israel or abroad. Startups specializing in telecommunications realized that offering low-cost or even no-cost prices wouldn't do the trick unless people could use the service easily. In technology argot, they needed user-friendly interfaces.

Thus the motto of Jajah, which supplies phone services over Internet: "Even your granny can use the service." Other startups supplying alternatives to the good old dial-phone have also grasped the simplicity principle.

But how do these companies make money, if not from you? The answer is advertisers. In exchange for paying little or no money for airtime, the consumer is exposed to advertising. Consumers willing to tolerate a few seconds of advertising can lower their cost to an amazing degree.

With the help of the price-comparison web site Kamaze.co.il, we have compiled a list of some alternatives for calling abroad while paying local prices, whether via regular phone, cellular or Internet.

Jajah

Jajah enables you to talk from phone to phone - over the Internet, offering free communications in exchange for exposure to advertising. The software is very friendly and doesn't even need to be downloaded.

How it works: All you need to do is register on the Jajah web site at Jajah.com, enter your phone number (mobile or regular), then the number you wish to call. (Or, you can choose a number from a list you entered in the past.)

Then you click on call. Your phone will ring. You hear the advertising message, after which your call will be connected.

You can also choose to pay money rather than listen to ads. But Kamaze points out that in that case, the price is roughly the same as a regular long-distance call.

The Jajah service doesn't pay for local calls. A call from your regular phone to a cellular phone is about 53 agorot per minute (compared with 33 agorot through the regular companies), and from cellular to cellular, it's 88 agorot per minute (compared with 60 agorot through the regular companies).

Advantages:

? It really is free.

? People preferring their regular phones will appreciate not having to talk into a computer microphone.

Disadvantages:

? You have to listen to ads.

? Even though you're using your regular phone to talk, you have to have Internet access.

Bezecom

Last year, Bezeq conducted a stealth launch of a long-distance calling service over the Internet, based in part on its regular infrastructure. Bezecom was set up by Bezeq International together with DSNR. You can call a list of 50 countries at the cost of a local call, in exchange - again - for listening to ads.

How it works: One of the parties - you or the one overseas - needs to sign up for the free service through the company's web site at www.bezecom.com. The registrant gets a six-digit registration number, called the "Bezecom number." If the party abroad is the one signing up, and you want to initiate a call, you dial a designated number in the 03 area (03-9789999), and then enter his Bezecom number. If you're the one that signed up, you call that designated number, through which you can reach any landline number in the countries with which Bezecom works. The cost is one local call.

Advantages:

? You can use it from any phone.

? Calling long-distance from your cellular phone is also cheaper - it's the price of a local cellular call because you're calling the same number, 03-9789999.

? If you're abroad, you don't need to take an international calling card to call home. Just make sure the home number has a Bezecom account number.

? When calling the U.S., you can also call cellular numbers. In other countries the service is confined to landline numbers.

? You have the option of routing incoming calls. If you sign up for service in Israel, when somebody calls you through your Bezecom number, they will get options: Press 1 for home number, 2 for office number, 3 for cellular and so on.

Limitations:

? Service at the cost of a local call is limited to 10 minutes. There is no limit on the number of calls you can make but there is a quota for total length of outgoing calls: 150 minutes. To refill your quota of 150 minutes, you have to go to the company's Web site.

? You have to listen to ads of about 5 seconds each, every four minutes, whether the call is incoming or outgoing. There is an option to pay Bezecom $20 a month and talk without limit, up to 10 minutes per call, without ads.

PokeTalk

This Israeli startup's software enables you to call for free, locally or to any of 50 countries. The "price" is a banner ad on the dialing Web page. A call can last up to 10 minutes and use is limited to 50 calls a month.

How it works:

You register on the Web site poketalk.com, enter your phone number and that of your destination, and click on Call. Your phone will ring and when you pick it up, you hear the dialing sound.

Advantages:

? PokeTalk's marketing content is the least annoying: a banner on the dialing Web page. Unlike Jajah and Bezecom, where you have to listen to the ads, you can just look away.

Disadvantages:

? You have to have Internet access when making the call.

? Each call is limited to 10 minutes.

? You can't call using your cellphone.