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Qwest begins phone service over the Net in Minnesota

The growth of the voice-over-Internet telephone business picked up speed yesterday as Qwest Communications International said it had begun offering the service and a report emerged that AT&T also would throw its hat into the ring today.

By Associated Press The Boston Globe

Major telecommunications companies are quickly embracing the technology, which potentially could reshape the landscape of the multibillion-dollar industry. This week Time Warner Cable and the BT Group of Britain said that they planned to offer such service.

Qwest said yesterday it has begun offering Internet phone service to some customers in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, marking the firmest embrace of the technology by a Baby Bell. Denver-based Qwest said it would expand the service to other parts of its 14-state area next year.

"The future of voice communications will be based on the Internet, and Qwest is excited to lead the way for customers," said Richard Notebaert, Qwest’s chairman and chief executive.

AT&T is expected today to disclose its plans to offer unlimited long-distance and local calling plans over the Internet, according to a report in today’s editions of The New York Times. The telephone giant expects to offer its services at a lower cost than conventional phone service, an industry executive close to the company told the Times.

The technology, known as voice over Internet protocol, or voice over IP, lets users make calls as normal, using a special phone or a regular phone connected to an adaptor. The phone or adaptor is connected to a DSL or cable modem at the customer’s home.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
© Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.

http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2003/12/11/qwest_begins_phone_service_over_the_net_in_minnesota/

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