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View Full Version : Tesco VoIP highlights 3's term charges



3GScottishUser
3rd March 2007, 09:40 AM
Tesco has moved into the internet telephony market with a range of services and devices.

The supermarket chain is hoping to capitalise on Ofcom predictions that UK VoIP users will swell from 500,000 to three million by the end of 2007.

Tesco customers can make calls to other Tesco internet phone users for free, and call other numbers around the world for as little as 2p per minute.

Calls to UK landlines are charged at 2p per minute, along with a selection of international destinations. Calls to UK mobile numbers are charged at 10p per minute, with the exception of Hutchison 3G which costs 25p per minute.

Calls to other international destinations, and services such as 0845 numbers, vary depending on the country and whether users are dialling a landline or a mobile. Most are between 10p and 30p per minute, according to Tesco.

Unsurprisingly calls to satellite phones are the most expensive, rising from £2.70 per minute to call an Inmarsat phone in the Indian B area, to a whopping £60 per minute to call a Thuraya phone.

Unlike most traditional phone lines, the Tesco system operates on a pay-as-you-go basis and customers can buy credit online or with vouchers purchased from any Tesco store.

Tesco also offers a range of products for use with the system, including an internet phone adapter that allows users to connect a regular phone to a network for making VoIP calls.

The company is also offering three traditional-looking handsets that plug into a PC, one of which is cordless, and a headset.

http://www.itweek.co.uk/vnunet/news/2184631/tesco-moves-voip-market

Ben
3rd March 2007, 10:43 AM
Sounds like they're going head-to-head with Vonage. Not bowled over by the prepay-only option, but there you go.

As for Three's termination charges, I'm sure the regulator will act sooner rather than later now - there's a review pending if I'm not mistaken.

3GScottishUser
3rd March 2007, 11:21 AM
Yes Ofcom are on the case of 3G termination charges presently but any regulation could take until 2011 to become fully effective. Its interesting that Tesco have chosen to differentiate pricing to 3 although all the landline ops have been doing so since they started. Just proves that there is no such thing as a free lunch!!

I'm not sure how Tesco will do with this service when BT, Vodafone and Orange provide unlimited free VoIP calls with their broadband packages. Orange is currently the best deal with Orange Mobile contract customers (£30+ per month) getting Unlimited Broadband (up to 8Mb) and free VoIP calls to UK landlines, 100 countries landlines and Orange Mobiles for just £5 a month. Vodafone at home provides free calls to landlines but not using VoIP, they have included the standard BT up to 1 hour call deal in the monthly rental which also includes line rental.

Lots to choose from in the market now.