Long-distance phone provider AT&T Corp. will introduce Internet-based telephone service for consumers on Thursday, USA Today reported.
AT&T already offers Internet telephony to businesses but plans a nationwide rollout to consumers starting in 2004, USA Today reported, citing unidentified sources. Internet telephony, also known as voice-over IP, promises cheaper rates than traditional phone service because voice communications are broken up into bits and transmitted as data.
Time Warner Cable, the nation"s second-largest cable-television provider, announced a deal with Sprint Corp. and MCI to offer Internet telephony on Monday. Local-phone provider Qwest Communications International Inc. is testing Internet phone service in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota.