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Tesco shelves VoIP internet phone service

Monday 29 March, 2010

By Becca Talbot - becca@consumerchoices.co.uk

Supermarket giant Tesco is pulling the plug on its VoIP phone service because customers “weren’t really using it.”

Tesco has given its internet phone (VoIP) customers until Tuesday 27 April to find an alternative service, after deciding to discontinue its Tesco Internet Phone and Talk Wi-Fi products.

VoIP is an internet phone service that lets customers make cheap calls via their broadband connection.

The Tesco VoIP service, which was launched in 2006 in an attempt to bring VoIP internet phone services into the mainstream, is being shelved because of lack of interest in the product.

A Tesco spokesperson told PC Pro: “We found Tesco customers weren’t really using it and taking it up. We launched the service quite a while ago now and technology and communications have moved forward a long way.”

As of Friday 26 March, Tesco VoIP customers could no longer top-up their pre-pay accounts, and the company is now offering refunds for outstanding credit and on handsets purchased in the past three months. Customers can receive their refunds from their local branch of Tesco.

Simon Piper, business development manager at Homephonechoices.co.uk, said: “Tesco’s VoIP customers will now need to consider their options. Signing up to another internet phone service will keep your bills down, providing a cheap alternative to installing a second phone line which can cost up to £124.99 with BT.”

“Some internet phone providers, such as Vonage (www.vonage.co.uk), offer unlimited free calls to other Vonage users, as well as unlimited anytime calls to UK landlines, and cheap unlimited international calls depending on the package chosen,” added Piper.

Tesco VoIP customers will be able to switch to Vonage from just £18.98 depending on which equipment you select. When you join Vonage, you’ll have to pay a one-off line activation fee of £9.99 plus a delivery fee of £8.99 for your chosen equipment.

Piper explained that using VoIP is a great way to save money on your home phone bills, especially if you make a lot of calls to friends and family overseas. He added: “Unlike other VoIP services like Skype, Vonage can be used as a reliable second phone line and its call plans come with 20 inclusive call features - you can even get your voice messages emailed to you.”

Unfortunately Tesco VoIP subscribers will be unable to port their current phone numbers to any other service, however if you join Vonage you’ll be able to choose a dialling code of your choice, meaning if your Tesco number is a London number, you can choose another London-based number.

Compare Vonage call plans or use the Vonage call calculator to find out how much you could save if you were using Vonage.