19 September 2007

Nationwide calling from your regular home phone is getting closer to being free.

Two
new companies are trying to attract the average consumer to Internet
telephony by bypassing the local phone and cable TV giants to provide
free calls on standard-issue phone handsets.

The free calls come at a price, of course -- either one-time hardware costs or low annual membership fees.

Still,
analysts say the surge of inexpensive alternatives for making calls is
likely to drive down prices for traditional phone plans.