BSkyB is preparing to expand its internet phone service, according to a report in The Times. The newspaper said that Sky hopes to "shake up the market" for internet-based VoIP telephony. Sky has not released any details about the service and The Times, owned like Sky by Rupert Murdoch"s News Corporation, is the only news outlet to carry the story.
The report implies that this is Sky"s first move into VoIP, but the satellite giant already has an internet telephony service, Sky Talk, which is available to eight million Sky digital subscribers in the UK and Ireland. Sky"s reported plan to "launch an internet phone service" is likely to involve an expansion of Sky Talk to a broader customer base. This move was widely predicted when Sky bought broadband provider Easynet for a rumoured £211m last year. Existing Sky Talk customers use their standard phones to make calls over the internet. BT still owns the line, but call bills come from Sky Talk.