Yahoo launches Phone-in, Phone-out service using Messenger

NEW YORK: Yahoo Inc. has launched a service that enables people to make phone calls using instant messaging software. The service will be initially available in the United States, the company said Tuesday.

Called 'Phone-in and Phone-out', calls using the system will have to be initiated from a personal computer and can be made to traditional landline phones and cellphones. Calls can also be received in the system from these phones. The system will require a headset and microphone. The subscribers will get a personal phone number for using the service.

Yahoo will charge $2.99 a month as subscription and 2 cents to make a local call. Calls can also be made using the system to some 180 countries, but per minute charges for such calls will, however vary. Incoming calls as well as PC-to-PC calls are free.

Yahoo's charges are lower by $1 per month compared to charges levied by internet telephone leader Skype, an eBay company, for its PC-to-phone service.

Yahoo's vice president Brad Garlinghouse said what is unique about Yahoo service is that it uses the Messenger and the Yahoo network. Garlinghouse said tests carried out in five countries received tremendous response for the service. The company has concluded arrangements with Plantronics, a maker of USB handsets, and Siemens AG for the headsets.

Microsoft is now understood to be testing a similar service, while America Online said its PC-to-Phone service will be available later this year.

Analysts say while the initial focus of such services will be on computer users, the entry of players like Yahoo, Microsoft and AOL indicates a major shift in the way telecommunications is handled. It will be a matter of months before such services are available on cordless and mobile phones, they said.

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