By editorial@silicon.com, 26 October 1998 16:17
NEWS IDT today announced the launch of its European phone-to-phone Internet service in collaboration with Teledirect Communications. Teledirect, the Swiss marketing company, will buy IDT's Net2phone gateways in Europe and use them to sell phone-to-phone Internet services through retailers and business customers. According to critics, the voice quality is not as good as traditional public switched telephone networks. But IDT argues its product offers low costs, efficient network use and video conferencing facilities. The Net2phone Pro software enables voice traffic data to be converted into Net transmissible data and back again via IDT's global network. Terminating gateways then convert the data back to voice and route them through to normal telephones. Calls can be made via any ordinary or GSM phone, fax or PBX. Other phone companies such as Germany's Deutsche Telekom, Sweden's Telia and Finland's Sonera are quickly following suit and it is hoped the services will save customers up to 80 per cent in comparison to traditional phone services. IDT's phone-to-phone Internet services are already in operation in the US and Korea. IDT say Madrid and Almera, Spain, will see the service start early this November. Switzerland, Italy and Hungary will have to wait until early next year and other European countries until mid-1999.
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