26 April 2007

A telecoms row has broken out after a fledgling start-up provider of free voice calls over the internet accused mobile phone giants of crippling its service.

Truphone, which was launched in September, is claiming that Vodafone and Orange have released a version of the Nokia N95 mobile phone handset with its VoIP capability disabled.

VoIP, (Voice over Internet Protocol) routes conversations over the internet. Companies such as Truphone allow customers to download free software on to their mobile phones that will enable them to make cheaper, or in some cases free, phone calls by using a WiFi network. This allows customers to make calls without having to pay their usual network provider, who most likely also provided an expensive phone as part of the contract.