Just curious as I've asked this question before but never got a response. Has anyone tried Gmail Chat? It's free to the States and Canada right now. I'd be surprised if BTL blocked Google, but maybe I'm missing something tech-wise. At any rate, in areas of the world where it's not blocked, Google is 100x better in my opinion than Skype. Just wondering...

As far as I remember the "phone" part of Google Chat is only available to US IP addresses. So you would still need a VPN on a US server to use it.

I've used in all over Europe, Mexico, and Canada, calling to the US/Canada. Maybe worth a look?

I have a Witopia wireless N router (cloakbox) configured for OpenVPN and it works faultlessly. All the international telephoning we do is through Skype.

I have only used Google Voice/ Chat in the US and there is a mention that the service is only available in the US. However when you read the warning it does not mention anything about IP tracking.

It says the following:

Don't see the Call phone feature? At this time it's only available for use in the United States. Please ensure that your Gmail interface language is set to English (US).

I dont know if it checks the IP (it does say only available in the US) or just your language settings but maybe worth a try

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