LONDON: Britain's top fixed-line telecoms operator BT Group launched a new service allowing users to make phone calls over Yahoo Inc's instant messenger product, the companies said.
The new offering, called BT Communicator with Yahoo Messenger, uses Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology, which carries speech over the Internet.
Next year the two companies will add a video capability to the service enabling two parties to see each other as they speak or "IM" -- Webspeak for chat sessions conducted via typing. Through a business alliance formed last year with Yahoo, BT has been making a concerted push for younger, technologically savvy consumers in a move to stave off competitors in Britain's fiercely competitive broadband market.
VoIP, which has only recently offered acceptable call quality, is getting a boost in the United States, Europe and parts of Asia from broadband Internet access plans that allow users to stay online for a fixed monthly fee.
VoIP services are viewed as the latest "must-have" feature to keep Internet customers loyal. British-based Skype Technologies set the market buzzing earlier this year when it unveiled new software allowing Internet users to make phone calls between two computers at no cost to the user.
The BT Communicator with Yahoo service is designed to make it easy for users to switch from an instant messenger conversation to a telephone conversation.
BT cited recent studies that say one in every 10 IM conversations end in a phone call. "BT is responding to this cultural change in how we communicate by making it simpler for people to use the various services," said Gavin Patterson, BT Group MD for Consumer Ventures.
BT said that from an IM dialogue box, a user can send the other party an instant message, e-mail or engage in a voice conversation through the PC.
A call to another BT VoIP user's PC is free. A call from the computer to a landline or mobile phone carries the same tariff as BT's normal BT Together telephone service.
BT said the service is available to over 19 million UK consumers with a BT line, and the software will be made freely available.
The companies would not discuss the specifics of the VoIP business, but have said in the past their alliance is based on a revenue-sharing agreement.
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