VoIP is the way to go!
I'm pretty sure a lot of people have used the voice/webcam capabilities in MSN messenger and Skype even. This is what people in the tech world call VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol). This basically means the transfer of audio over the internet. Some of you may have discovered that Skype can make calls to ordinary telephones after you attach credit to your account. I have been doing this for a while since I have friends scattered around the world until I found out about hardware VoIP. Hardware VoIP means that you have a dedicated "box" that controls your calls from normal telephone handsets instead of your computer.
I recently signed myself up to MyNetFone as my VoIP provider. The call rates are basically the same as SkypeOut would charge or even cheaper, except that you use the service with your normal phone. Getting hardware VoIP also means you can still access your ordinary PSTN number on VoIP devices with the fallback feature. This feature means you can still make and receive calls on the PSTN number.
I would recommend people to switch to VoIP if they have a high speed internet connection. You can finally bar all outgoing calls on your regular line (saving you money) and make all outgoing calls on the VoIP service which is exceptionally cheap for local, STD and international. The VoIP hardware will pay itself off in one billing cycle if you use the phone frequently.