EarthLink is testing a wireless handset that will allow consumers to make phone calls over EarthLink’s municipal wireless network (FAQ). Accton Technology is manufacturing the Wi-Fi phones for the company’s beta test network in Anaheim, Calif.
“We expect that many people who use cell phones today in our municipal Wi-Fi markets will want to switch to a Wi-Fi phone to take advantage of the significant cost savings,” said Steve Howe, EarthLink’s senior vice president of voice.
The handsets will work directly on EarthLink’s municipal wireless networks and can also connect via a wireless router attached to the user’s wired home broadband network. Service and the phone handset will be free during the Anaheim beta test.
Anticipated price plans for the consumer roll-out after the beta test include:
- $14.95 a month for 500 anytime outbound domestic minutes, and free, unlimited inbound minutes.
- $24.95 for unlimited domestic minutes.
- $100 one-time charge for equipment, including the Wi-Fi phone handset and a cradle that functions as a charger and a Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g router inside the home.
The service and phone don’t require a subscription to EarthLink’s metro-scale network, but Earthlink provides city-wide roaming. EarthLink’s Wi-Fi phone package comes with a handset and a cradle that acts a charger as well as an indoor Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g router.
Other products in the company’s suite of Internet voice services include EarthLink’s DSL and Home Phone Service, a line- powered VoIP service using a traditional telephone handset with no special equipment needed.
Meanwhile, the head of Google in Spain and Portugal has confirmed that Google is working on a mobile phone. “Some of the time the engineers are dedicated to developing a mobile phone,” Isabel Aguilera is quoted as saying on the Spanish-news Web site Noticias.com.
A Google spokeswoman in the United States released this statement when asked for comment: “Mobile is an important area for Google and we remain focused on creating applications and establishing and growing partnerships with industry leaders to develop innovative services for users worldwide. However, we have nothing further to announce.”
Big tech companies seem to be getting into the phone business; notes ArsTech: first Apple, then rumor of the Zune phone, and now Google.
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