Writing on the wall? Low monthly cost, unlimited VoIP international fixed line calls!

[TurningFrench]

The writing is on the wall for the traditional telecoms providers and newer VoIP
providers alike. In BIG letters.

Unlimited free-of-charge international VoIP phone calls have arrived.

I am in France and get my ADSL from Free (http://adsl.free.fr/).
It costs me 30 euros per month, about £20. This gives 10 megabit downstream
ADSL. Upstream is 300/600 kilobit, depending on time of day. Free's service has
also included VoIP, giving free-of-charge, unlimited phone calls to fixed lines
anywhere in metropolitan France (and free-of-charge calls to other Free ADSL
users). Free's VoIP service is not an optional extra, but is an integral part of their
ADSL offering. It works by plugging a phone (cordless phones works OK) into their
"Freebox", which is Free's ADSL modem/router, with optional wireless (30 euros
one off charge). A free-of-charge non geographical phone number is provided, of
the format 0870 xxxxxx. These numbers can be called from a fixed line for the
price of a local call.

Disclaimer: I have no affiliation to Free, I'm just a user of their ADSL service.

Now the interesting part.

As of 1st January 2006, calls to fixed lines in the following countries are unlimited
and free of charge (see Free's tarifs (http://adsl.free.fr/tel/tarifs/)):
Australia, Austria, Canada (including mobiles), China,
Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal,
Singapore, Spain, United Kingdom, USA (including mobiles)

I suspect that calls to the rest of Europe will be included in due course.

How does the cost of Free's ADSL service compare to other ADSL providers?
Most charge 15 to 30 euros a month for ADSL between 2 and 20 megabits, with
an option of unlimited calls to fixed lines within France for 10 euros a month.

So, Free's service is very competitive, but now they have upped the anti
considerably with the latest addition to their service
FREE-OF-CHARGE UNLIMITED INTERNATIONAL CALLS

Where to next?

Footnote:
At times international call attempts always get busy, especially at evening peak
time, probably a function of Free's limited capacity. Perhaps this is to be expected.
But if a call is urgent, use a different line (even an alternative VoIP line).

[Cable Monkey]

Your broadband service is not free. Your hardware to enable voip is not free. Nothing is free. You pay one way or the other, and you will find the majority of internet access is run/controlled by the major telecoms providers so they get their money one way or the other...

We need to get used to the idea that we will still pay for these services, just that billing will be more obscure so that you perceive that you are getting something for nothing. In reality you are adopting a cheaper to operate and maintain service and when you take these overheads away the companies are still making huge profits!

[TurningFrench]

Your broadband service is not free. Your hardware to enable voip is not free. Nothing is free. You pay one way or the other .....


Your response was rather sweeping ..... and incorrect.

Agreed, ADSL is not free (no pun intended, my supplier is called Free), but the
service I get is extremely competitive. Where in the UK would you get totally
uncapped 10 megabit ADSL for £20 a month? Free is the second largest ADSL
provider in France, behind Wanadoo (which is owned by France Telecom).

There is no charge for the ADSL modem supplied with my service, so you are
wrong, it is in effect free - just return it if you cancel the service (the equivalent
Wanadoo modem costs £2/€3 per month to rent). The modem supplies my VoIP,
I just plug a phone into the modem. No need for my computer to be turned on
either. So you are wrong again, my hardware to enable VoIP is free. Did you
actually fully read my original post :-) ? The modem box is also a DHCP router.
So I also get a free router. The modem box also streams 10's of channels of TV
for free (provided the local exchage is local loop unbundled). The modem is also
a media player, and will stream content (Ethernet or WLAN) from a PC via Scart
to a TV. This is also provided free.

During 2005 I subscribed to Free's ADSL service for 1 year prior to Free offering no
charge international calls, which they did as of 1/1/2006. The price of Free's ADSL
during 2005 was £20 (€30) per month. The price as of 2006, with no-charge
international calls, is the same £20 per month. So the addition of no-charge
international calls was free.

Could they have offered the old service cheaper? Probably. But Free are still one
of the cheaper ADSL suppliers in France - ADSL only comes cheaper if your local
exchange is "degrouped" (local loop unbundled).

I get fast and cheap ADSL. I get all my phone calls to fixed lines at no charge,
within France and international as well. I am very happy. It is my belief that
others will have to offer a similar service to survive. Time will tell if I am correct.

[dejongj]

At TurningFrench.....There is no denying that it is a very competative deal that you have got through Free's....Cablemonkey has definitely read you post correct and so did I....All Cablemonkey is saying that although something is free, it's not actually free! Perhaps the subtlety gets lost in the translation, but put in other ways...Although you may not be paying for something (like your free router) you actually are paying for it, I mean your subscription could be even less! This is very similar to the mobile phone industry....Another way you might be paying for it is through contention ratios, I'm not saying that is the case here, but the point is (which Cablemonkey already made) you ARE paying for it in someway......Nothing is free not even from Free!

[Cable Monkey]

TurningFrench. Thanks for your comments, however as Dejongj states you have missed the point. We have gone from a situation only 5 years ago of no broadband to today’s situation of plenty of choice. I work for a major telecoms provider who provides fixed line phone lines and broadband. We have no problem with the rise and rise of VoIP because it is simply another reason for folks to consider using broadband, and while you may believe that the offer of cheap bandwidth is some form of benevolence, the provider is planning ways of recouping their investment using new methods. Your situation is simply like that of a supermarkets 'buy one, get one free' deal. Using a simple loss leader to get people to subscribe, the drive to get these customers to then part with more cash comes later in the form of legal downloads, video on demand and other services hosted by the provider. The revenue stream that broadband generates did not exist 5 years ago and I can assure you it more than makes up for the loss of telephony revenue. I will finish by restating my original comment. Nothing is free.

[Chris Muriel]

The magic word , watched by all the shareholders, accountants and stock market dabblers is ARPU.
They all plan various methods of increasing Average Revenue Per User ; it's just that we may not be party to their overall strategy.

Chris Muriel, Manchester