Thanks to the growing popularity of Internet-based calling, many believe
that the day of ‘free’ phone calls is fast approaching.

The thought comes as no surprise as everyday, more and more people are
relying on the Internet for numerous things such as getting the news,
checking the weather, and shopping. As such, expecting to make free calls
from an Internet connection is fast becoming ‘just another service’ that
people expect to get from the Internet. As Henry Gomez, general manager of
Skype, put it… “People are going to look at voice communications as
something they expect to get for free.”

This of course creates a highly competitive market, with companies such as
SunRocket and Vonage trying to twist the arms of traditional phone giants
such as AT&T and Verizon by selling phone services on their lines. To fight
back, AT&T and Verizon are offering huge discounts and encouraging consumers
to purchase service packages that offer more advanced features.

But again, it is those companies offering free PC-to-PC phone services that
are really driving phone prices down. As such, the prediction of research
firm TeleGeography that Internet phone providers will capture 1/4 of
traditional local phone business does not seem far-fetched at all.