At the Persistent Illusion blog, a strong case is made for using Skype.

PI complains that her Verizon bill last month amounted to $285. (Yikes.) She notes:
"We can't figure out how we used more than 1400 minutes, and went two hundred dollars over our regular bill. But it doesn't matter, because I have had enough."

She investigated and decided that Skype was the way to go. She told her husband "about how awesome Skype is, how we could have 10,000 minutes a month to call anywhere in the U.S. and Canada, how we could get a phone number that people could call in to, how it would free us from the tyranny of Verizon's evilness, and how cheapcheapcheap (!) it is. The only hiccup occurred when we found out that Skype cannot call 9-1-1. But instead of objecting to the idea outright, we did a little research.

"The solution? We are getting pay-as-you-go phones. So, yes. It's a cell phone...with no plan."

She notes: "(I)n reality - I LOVE SKYPE. Chris set up the equipment with a minimum of fuss, but if you are completely techno-ignorant I would suggest dragging a computer geek home with you. (It wasn't much more complicated than installing a printer driver.)"

You can run through PI's economic analysis at her blog. She says her savings from Skype will save her $576 this year and $816 in future years. PI said: "$816 is basically a well executed vacation to the Caribbean!"

Some great comments ensue.

Dreemwhrld notes: "I downloaded the free version of Skype a few months ago. I call my parents as often as I can with it. My favorite part? The video!! Now I can see my parents when I call them and they can see me, something I never wanted to pay for on a cell phone (and something most cell phones can't do anyway). I can conference call with my sister and parents, or send an instant message to one of my friends, and its all free. There's no way I could afford international calling to talk to my family, but now anyone with a web cam or a microphone can talk to me. The usefulness of the internet will never cease to amaze me."