Calling overseas could now cost you as little as four cents a minute ? at least if you are calling the US, Australia, China, Sweden, Germany...or any number of other places.

That means that your telephone costs could be slashed by more than 75 percent with long distance rates from local providers currently costing anywhere from around 16 cents a minute and up.

But there is a tiny catch, you won't get the service through your local long distance provider. No, you need an Internet connection (but most of us have that now, so that isn't a big one) ? and you need special software and are advised to also get a handset.

Enter Richard Woolnough, managing director of local company Bespoke Solutions, who has brought to the Bermuda market both the software and handsets.

The service is being offered through Website 'buzz.bm' which Mr. Woolnough set up as an "offshoot of Bespoke," the consulting company he runs.

Although this kind of service has been available for some time online, Mr. Woolnough said what he has done is created a way for people to easily get the handset and software.

As well, he is just a call away for those needing to be guided through the set-up process.

Mr. Woolnough said he was not a telecoms provider, and did not feel the service took anything away from local companies in that sector. This is because the service still requires an Internet connection and a line over which to get online.

The technology that makes the service possible is something called Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) and Mr. Woolnough's company is offering the service through a company (Dialpad) that he said is well-established and reliable.

In a nutshell, the way the technology works is to break down the voice into bits of data and send it over the Internet to reassemble the bits on the other end so the person you are calling can understand what you are saying.

And so you won't have to talk over your computer's microphone (which can apparently create "nasty feedback"), you plug the handset in making it akin to speaking from your home phone ? just for a lot less.

Calls through the service can be placed to both land line numbers and mobile telephones, although Mr. Woolnough said ringing someone on a mobile typically costs more.

Pricing information ? with it costing as little as four cents to call some countries, while others, for example, the Falkland Islands will set you back 75 cents a minute ? is available on the company's website, www.buzz.bm.