Google introduced their Voice and Video chat this week,bringing competition to Skype and the likes
http://mail.google.com/videochat
http://www.google.com/mail/help/videoch ... nmore.html
I tried this on a 256 kbps broadband from India to the US and UK. The quality is pretty amazing and it's pretty simple to install.
This has opened up additional new avenues for distance learning of carnatic music! as well as new opportunities for musicians/teachers to tech effectively from their home.