BT is gunning for rival voice-over IP (VoIP) services such as Skype with BT Communicator with Yahoo Messenger, the UK telco’s first major Internet telephony product.
BT Communicator integrates VoIP functionality into the Yahoo instant messenger client. It will provide free voice calls to other PCs, and will also allow users to call landlines and mobile phones for the same price as using their BT home telephone.
Andrew Burke, director of value added services at BT Retail, said that BT Communicator, which was launched on Thursday, would turn a home PC into the “smartest phone in the house”.