Gigaclear UK Partners Vonage for Cheaper Voice Calls via FTTP Broadband

ISP Gigaclear, which runs a number of 1000Mbps capable fibre optic broadband (FTTP) networks in rural parts of England, has joined forces with internet voice provider Vonage in order to potentially cut the price of its packages by removing the cost of a traditional landline phone service.

The ISP claims that the new service, which will run over their fibre optic lines, should offer unlimited UK landline calls for just £5.99 a month (somewhat cheaper than the £15 or so that most people pay for a traditional phone service).

The solution is actually very similar to Vonage’s standard product and would of course rely on your internet connection working, even during prolonged power cuts, in order to continue its operation. FTTP lines tend to have backup power but it usually doesn’t last for long, while old-style copper lines are self-powered.

Matthew Hare, Gigaclears CEO, said:

“We are constantly looking for ways to provide additional value to our customers. This partnership with Vonage is an example of that. Up to fifty per cent of existing Gigaclear customers already use Vonage to reduce their monthly communications costs and take advantage of the additional call features Vonage offers once they have reliable, ultrafast broadband. We wanted to make it easier and cheaper for new customers to do so too.”

Simon Burckhardt, Managing Director of Vonage UK, added:

“Vonage is a very cost effective option for Gigaclear customers. Using our product on top of the Gigaclear service will mean they can cancel their existing telephone line rental agreements – saving – on average – over £100 a year. In addition to saving money, our service offers customers a number of useful features, such as being able to have multiple numbers on one account, being able to choose your number, and being able to have an international number – all great features if you’re setting up, or running a small business.”

Vonage claims that its service will also offer additional call features, such as voice messages that can be sent to mobile devices as text or sound files. Customers who travel abroad can also take their numbers with them by plugging their Vonage adapter into any available Internet connection.

BT is also developing an alternative Fibre Voice Access (FVA) product for its own 330Mbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premise lines, which is more complicated and uses an analogue telephony adaptor (ATA) built into the FTTP Optical Network Termination (ONT) device at the customer’s premises. But so far we haven’t heard much more about this since its Early Market Deployment last year.