Thanks to a product launched by M-Web, you now can, but you`ll need an ADSL line.

As the name implies, Broadband Talk is a telephony service that uses your existing broadband Internet connection to make cost-effective calls overseas. Unfortunately, and thanks once again to SA`s rapacious telecommunications monopoly, local calls will be more expensive and Telkom won`t let you receive calls from its network on your brand-new, regulator-approved 0877 number.

On the plus side, family and friends residing elsewhere in the world will be able to call you on the new number. Another positive aspect is that Broadband Talk is as simple to use as the fixed line service you probably already have.