Home phone News

Skype launches Freetalk adapter home telephone

Wednesday 16 November, 2011

By Anthony Hill

Users will benefit from cheap phone calls and Skype chats on a landline.

The world’s leading internet voice calling service is now available on UK landlines.

After success in the US, Skype has launched its Freetalk adapter in Britain, offering cheap home phone calls and voice chat with other Skype members around the world.

Freetalk combines the convenience of calling from home with Skype’s competitive calling rates. All people need is a landline, the phone adapter - or a Skype-ready cordless phone - and a broadband connection.

Enrico Noseda, Skype’s head of European market development, said: “Our mission is to make Skype available everywhere so users can enjoy their conversations, whenever and wherever they are.

“With the launch of Skype from your home phone, we are continuing to make it even easier for consumers to enjoy conversations in the home - whether on Skype-enabled TVs, Skype for Windows or Mac, and now via a Skype-ready phone or the Freetalk adapter.”

Users will need a computer or smartphone to initially set-up the Freetalk adapter, but will not require it to make calls once the unit is installed.

The Freetalk adapter - designed for Skype members who want to use their existing home phone - comes with 300 minutes of international talk time and can store up to 100 speed dials and 200 Skype contacts. It is available from the Skype online store for £34.99.

In addition to the landline, the adapter needs to be connected to a broadband router, as well as the home phone itself - so it is important to position it somewhere all the cables can reach.

Alternatively, with a Skype-ready cordless phone - from £53.99 in the Skype online store - you can wander around your home making low-cost calls and chatting with other Skype members across the globe.

A survey by Skype found that only half of Brits can recite their parents’ phone number from memory, which could make Freetalk’s speed dial a particularly useful feature.