Vonage, Cisco team up in Wi-Fi giveaway

In a bid to attract more subscribers, Internet telephony operator Vonage said on Monday it's giving away a Linksys Wi-Fi access point to US residents who sign up for Vonage calling plans until 23 July.

Purchase of the Linksys model number WRTP54G, which costs about $130, is required, then Vonage distributes rebates after signing up for its phone service and trading in an old wireless router, Vonage said.

Both companies believe it's a first-of-its-kind offer in the hyper-competitive market for selling voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), which transforms broadband connections into very inexpensive home phone lines.

With the new tactic, Vonage is going beyond the standard practice of giving away telephone adaptors that its customers require to make VoIP calls using their existing home phones. In fact, a Wi-Fi access point, which showers 100m-long zones with wirelessly available Internet access, isn't necessary to use VoIP; rather any wired cable modem or digital subscriber line will do.

But Wi-Fi makes a VoIP service more attractive, because subscribers can make calls from anywhere in a home or office, rather than being limited to just a few phones outfitted with a special adaptor.

"As more Americans are moving to wireless networks, they can start getting more for their communications dollar," the company said in a statement.