Today BT Group and Microsoft have extended their partnership to start a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) subscription service that, for a monthly subscription, allows unlimited UK calls through Microsoft Messenger. This system allows users to use make calls while surfing on the same line and they can call any fixed line in the UK.
The service is going to cost £20 a month and it is available to all BT Together customers (who are users of a package that starts at £11.50). The product manager from BT Ignite, David Pearce, has claimed: "PC2UK demonstrates BT"s commitment to offer customers the most innovative and advanced communication solutions available. This latest addition to the VoIP portfolio is also an important step in BT"s partnership plans with Microsoft.".
This service seems only to be available for landlines and not mobiles and comes in at £1.50 more than their landline offer, which is £18.50 for unlimited evening and weekend calls (but whether PC2UK includes the BT Together subscription isn"t mentioned so the price could be £31.50 in total).
For businesses this is clearly going to be a great investment and this will appeal to those which need a constant connection to the Internet at home. VoIP allows fax/voice calls to be sent over an IP network with a suitable QoS (Quality of Service) and it allows cost savings, in this case for heavy phone users. The success of this will depend on the continued deployment of broadband in the UK but this won"t be available to cable customers who use networks like Telewest and NTL unless they have a BT Together account.