Internet telephony services are the great enabler for working snowbirds like me, and for business travelers and many tourists too, because you can use them anywhere you have Internet access.

Dell Voice, a brand new one, jointly offered by Dell and Canadian VoIP provider Fongo, gives you free - yes, free - service that includes a new Canadian telephone number, unlimited calling in North America, low international rates, and voice mail.

Dell Voice works on iOS (iPhone, iPad) and Android mobiles (it will eventually be available for BlackBerry too) and on Windows desktops. It works over 3G networks or Wi-Fi.

You can make free calls to any North American phone (unlike Skype which is only free when you're calling Skype to Skype), and receive calls at your new Dell Voice number. You could also forward calls from your regular phone (if you have call forwarding on the line) to the Dell Voice number.

How well does it all work?

Based on very limited testing from Spain (the service was only introduced on February 8), it works. Voice and connection quality are not quite as good as Skype (which in my experience is usually surprisingly good) or Primus TalkBroadband, (a paid service I'll be writing about in a future column.)

As more and more people find out about and start using Dell Voice, quality could degrade. It is a free service after all. Nobody else I know of in the VoIP biz is giving this much away.

Why Dell is offering this service is anyone's guess. But who cares? They are offering it, and as long as they do, travelers can take advantage.

On an iOS device, go to the App Store, search on Dell Voice and download the free app. When you launch the app, it takes you through a registration process that includes providing minimal personal information and authenticating by clicking a link in an email.

When I went through the process, Dell Voice automatically assigned a telephone number in the 226 area code, a relatively recent alternative area code for southwestern Ontario where I live.

Setting up voice mail is similar to setting it up on just about any other phone service. You can use a standard greeting or record your own.

The big opportunity, it seems to me, is using the service over Wi-Fi when travelling in places where you'd otherwise have to pay exorbitant roaming charges to use your mobile over the local 3G network.

Article Tags:  travel, Blackwell, Canada, Dell Voice, Fongo, VoIP, roaming, iOS, Apple, iPad, iPhone, Windows, smartphone, tablet, Android, Wi-Fi, Skype, 3G