SIPNET, a Russian SIP provider, now provides unlimited free calls to to Moscow and St. Petersburg. This is welcome news to people all over the world who have relatives, friends and businesses in the two cities. As of the moment though calls can only be made to certain areas with the following area codes: 495, 499, and 812. Despite the limited coverage the service offered will still affect many since the three area codes already cover a substantial part of Moscow and St Petersburg.

For those who want to use the service be warned though that you will not be able to do so unless you know how to read in Russian. If you don’t you’d better enlist the help of someone who does since there isn’t an English version of the site. Once you get over the language barrier sign up for an account to be able to make free calls. After signing up for your SIPNET account and verifying your account you can then start making calls using a SIP softphone.

A good SIP softphone you can use is X-Lite. Not only is X-Lite easy to use but it also free. You can download X-Lite from Counterpath’s website. X-Lite has versions for Windows, Mac OSX and Linux so that no matter what OS you use you can still call via SIPNET’s network. When using X-Lite to make a call make sure that you enter the correct information. X-Lite will ask you to fill up the following fields:

• Username;
• Password;
• Authorisation Username; and
• Domain

You will also see other fields which you can tweak but unless you know what you are doing it is best to leave it alone since the default settings is the safest bet. For the first two fields simply type in your SIPNET username and password. Retype your SIPNET username for the authorisation username. For the domain type in sipnet.ru. After this X-lite will connect you to SIPNET’s server. Once connected you can start dialling the number you wish to call. Just remember to include the area code. Since SIPNET offers unlimited free calls you can talk as long as you want and call as many number as you desire.