Vonage subscribers in the U.K. will soon be able to make mobile phone calls over the Internet, the company said Wednesday.
The U.S.-based Net phone company and Wi-Fi hot spot operator The Cloud are working together to launch a service that will let Vonage subscribers who have paid for a specially enabled Wi-Fi mobile handset to make calls charged at landline rates from any of The Cloud’s hot spots in the U.K.
“It’s really a wake-up call for the telecoms market. It’s saying there’s really a much better, cheaper way of making calls,” Vonage managing director Kerry Ritz said. “This is the inevitable next stage in the voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) revolution.”
The service will cost no extra for Vonage customers.
Looky here. Something else for Qwest, Verizon, SBC — to demand that Congress outlaw.
If you can afford the WiFi-equippd phone, they’ll let you bypass the cell-tower “premium”… If you can pay more up-front, you can pay less for [some of] your calls.
I agree with Eideard, the US Telcos will fight this one tooth and nail. They will want to charge extra for the “perceived value” of this capability, while subsidizing the phones. [ i.e. Gillette – give away the razors, and charge for the blades]