A new CHOICE survey has found that over half of Australians are taking advantage of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services as a low-cost alternative to traditional telco offerings.

Optus has launched a new range of fixed broadband and phone landline plans that do not require the bundling of additional services. The new plans start at $55 and $22 per month respectively, with additional discounts for Optus Mobile customers.

Hi Lifehacker, I have a question about an employer contacting me on my days or mornings off via phone. I am a casual worker and I do sometimes have shift changes but I find that my boss will call on days off, wanting to talk about the previous shift or about an incident that happened that night or asking for some feedback.

From October 1, Telstra is putting up its prices on many of its phone plans, for both mobile and landline users. Will you be affected and how much more will you pay? We've summarised the main shifts below.

A new version of the Telecommunications Consumer Protections (TCP) Code -- the regulations all companies selling phone and Internet services in Australia agree to abide by -- was announced today. How will it make your costs easier to understand and help eliminate bill shock? (Good news: the word 'cap' will be banned!)

You might think the worst thing that can happen if you sign up to change telephone companies with a door-to-door caller or a persuasive telephone salesperson is less-than-ideal rates. The ABC's Four Corners last night documented how thousands of Australian small businesses got scammed by telephone bundle deals which promised free TVs and other equipment as well as cheaper calls, but left them liable for large bills after the phone providers went broke.

Nobody is likely to list ringing a call centre in their favourite life activities, but it's not a particularly joyous occupation for the 200,000-odd Australians who work in them either. Here's 10 facts that might give you pause the next time you're about to let fly during a call.

Email has become the default form of communication for many of us — as evidenced by our overflowing inboxes and our best attempts to wrangle them — but actual voice communication still has it's place. So we're wondering.

No-one likes hanging on hold and pressing endless keys to get a service problem resolved. iHateHolding is a user-generated collection of tips for skipping the phone menus and getting to an actual staff member.

The exemptions for survey forms and charities might ruin your day when you're working at home, but new data suggests that the Do Not Call register has been a success in cutting back on unwanted telephone spam.

Skype this week has added SIP support, essentially meaning that it's possible to integrate Skype calling with a business PABX. Potential VOIP call rates aside, a big selling point being pushed by Skype that companies can add a "dial us" link to their sites and allow customers to call them (for free) while maintaining their given telephone infrastructure. Personally, I hate this kind of click-to-call feature -- my first step after a Skype install is to disable the Skype Firefox extension, which otherwise mangles phone numbers every time you encounter them online. But I'm frequently not a representative human being. Would you like the ability to call companies via Skype direct from their site, or would you prefer a focus on other modes of communication? Share your preferences in the comments.

Popular VoIP application Skype has introduced a new unlimited international calling plan for a measly $9.95/month

If you liked the idea of making VoIP calls on your iPod touch or iPhone, but all you've got in your go-bag is a Sony PSP, DIY web site Instructables steps through how to run the popular VoIP application Skype on your PSP. This PSP hack feature isn't new by any means, but the Instructable is detailed and easy to follow along with. We don't have a PSP to test this at Lifehacker HQ, so if you've setup Skype calling on your PSP, share your experience in the comments. How to use Skype to make PSP as PSP phone

US-centric: If you've been dying to try out the one-number-to-rule-them-all phone service GrandCentral, but have been stymied by their move to a closed, invite-only beta following Google's acquisition of the service, you'll be glad to know that GrandCentral has opened up to users of Google's Blogger. If you're still undecided about whether or not GrandCentral is for you, check out our extensive review and gallery of GrandCentral. If you've been a user of GrandCentral since we first posted about it, let's hear how you're liking it in the comments. Thanks Jason! GrandCentral Signup through Blogger Invite

When getting things done involves making phone calls, you want to spend the least amount of time and money on the horn as possible—and several tricks and services can help you do just that. With the right tones, keypresses, phone numbers, and know-how, you can skip through or cut off long-winded automated voice systems and humans, access web services by voice, and smartly screen incoming calls. Check out our pick of the 10 best telephony techniques for getting more done in less time over the phone.

Our pals over at Gizmodo have turned up a new gadget which could appeal to the anti-clutter mob over here at Lifehacker - the Skype Mouse. Like it sounds, it's an 800 dpi optical sensor mouse, which flips open into a Skype phone. You can plug the mike and earpiece into the side of the mouse. But as Anna points out in her post - it's dual purpose, not multi-purpose, so you can't keep mousing while calling. And, the phone won't ring while the screen is closed. So I'm leaning towards calling this a novelty.gift idea rather than a must have for the desktop. But I do love the idea of useful multi-purpose items. Got any favourites? Please share in comments.

There's been all kinds of talk about the web-based, all-in-one phone management solution GrandCentral since we first heard about it, but it's been closed to new users ever since Google acquired it. If you've been dying to see what all the hype's about but didn't get signed up for GrandCentral on time, today we'll take you step-by-step through everything GrandCentral has to offer.