Voice over IP (VoIP) means that you make calls over the internet. The sound is encoded and carried as internet traffic, rather than going down the phone wires to the telephone exchange in the traditional way. It is exactly the same as making a voice call using a service such as MSN Messenger or Skype.
However, whereas VoIP started as a free way to hold voice conversations over the internet, phone companies are now muscling in with pay-for services. The advantage is that you get a real phone number that people can call from an ordinary phone.
Skype is a great service because you can speak to anyone else in the world who has Skype for free. You can also call any standard phone in the world for a reasonable cost. See
http://www.skype.com/. The only thing you don't get is a number that people can call from an ordinary phone.
If people at university have internet connections in their rooms, and rip-off 0870 phones, I suggest discarding the phone for all but emergencies and using VoIP instead. (Sadly this isn't an option for people at Leicester as they still don't have internet access in rooms...)
As far as Swansea goes, however the phones are set up, we aren't able to find a geographical number at the moment, so maybe VoIP is an alternative if they have internet connections.
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