Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2005/09/27/bt_voip/
BT in VoIP price cut cull
Telco to 'scrap for every punter'
Posted in Networks, 27th September 2005 13:41 GMT
BT is "to fight for every customer" as its traditional voice service comes under threat from VoIP operators offering free and cheap calls.
Clearly rattled by firms such as Skype and now Dixons' new mass-market VoIP product Freetalk, BT has confirmed plans to cut the cost of international calls for users of its BT Communicator service.
From next week, the cost of calls to 30 countries such as the US, Australia, Spain and France will cost just 0.5p a minute. A 60-minute call to a US landline, which would cost 72p with Skype, would cost 30p with BT, said the telco in a statement.
And BT bigwig Gavin Patterson chipped in: "We are not going to sit back while competitors lure our customers with cheap internet calls. We will fight for every customer by offering our own attractive prices for these calls.
"Unlike traditional telephony, where we are heavily regulated, for internet telephony we can compete on an equal basis and offer customers the same advantages of low cost calls over the internet, but from a global, trusted brand."
He added that BT was "the first telecoms company to offer voice over internet two years ago". Despite this early advantage, BT Communicator has yet to become a major force in VoIP and only has 50,000 users. ®