Dixons is to launch a cut-price internet telephony service next week.

The service - inspiringly dubbed "FreeTalk" - has been described as "almost identical" to an offer by VoIP outfit Vonage, which offers unlimited calls to landlines in the UK and Ireland for £9.99 a month.

According to insiders, though, the Dixons offering is cheaper and is to cost £6.99 a month, or £79.99 for a year. A phone adaptor enabling users to link their home phone to the broadband service will cost punters £20, say sources.

Dixons will use its network of high street shops to plug the service. It's understood that the retailer is looking to make a big splash in stores when FreeTalk is unveiled next week, possible on Wednesday or Thursday.

No doubt the company is keeping its fingers crossed that its VoIP service is as successful as its popular internet business Freeserve, which turned the UK's ISP sector on its head when it launched in 1997. ®

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