There's a revolution brewing in the telephone industry. But it's not the recent demise of AT&T or the failure of Worldcom. It's a new, yet proven, technology that lets you talk with friends, family and loved ones over the Internet.

It's called VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) or broadband phone, and it lets you use your ordinary home or office telephone to dial and talk to anyone using the Internet as your "channel" of communication. Instead of dialing through the Bell System copper wires, you make calls through your DSL or cable Internet access provider. No microphones or headsets. Just use your existing telephone to talk throughout North America and the world.

This new technology not only saves you 50 to 60 percent on your monthly phone bill. It also provides a host of services the phone company cannot. One of these ? a "virtual phone number" -- can eliminate long distance charges to friends and family who want to call you. Here's how it works.

When you order your VoIP phone service you can also order a second phone number in a distant city. For example, if you live in Philadelphia you're in the 215 area code. And, if you have relatives in Los Angeles, you can order a virtual number in area code 818 (Los Angeles). Then, when a family member in LA wants to call you, they simply dial the 818 phone number, which is a local call for them. Amazingly enough, your phone rings in area 215. Your family gets to talk to you for the cost of a local call: for free.

Virtual numbers are great for kids going away to college. Rick and Patti live in Cleveland and have a son going to college at Kennesaw State University, near Atlanta. They can order a VoIP phone number with the Cleveland area code for the home phone, and get an Atlanta area virtual number. Then, when their son wants to call home, he makes a local Atlanta call and the phone rings at Mom and Dad's house, 700 miles away.

Of course VoIP phone service also provides toll free numbers ? usually at less than two cents per minute ? giving you yet another way to make it easy for friends and family to stay in touch.

Get virtual! Join the millions of people jumping on the VoIP bandwagon and start enjoying the rich features and accessibility you can get through broadband phone service.

Allan Ramsay is a 25-year veteran of the I.T. industry and principal at http://www.VoIP-USA.net, providing voice over IP phone service, landline, long distance plans, cellular phones, cellular calling plans, broadband access to the Internet and a host of Internet and telecommunication services to residential, SOHO and small business customers nationwide.