Yahoo! Taps iBasis for International VoIP Service

By Johanne Torres

TMCnet Contributing Editor

 

VoIP company iBasis announced on Wednesday that it was tapped by Yahoo! to provide international call termination for the Yahoo! Messenger with Voice service. The move will enable Yahoo! to offer Yahoo! Messenger with Voice users with the ability to place and receive international PC-to-Phone calls over iBasis' global VoIP network at lower rates.

 

The Phone Out feature, which integrates the iBasis Network for international calls, allows consumers in the U.S. can make VoIP PC-to-Phone calls by using their PC to place calls to traditional or mobile phones to more than 180 countries. Calls within the U.S. and to over 30 other countries can be made for two cents a minute or less.

 

The interconnection with iBasis includes use of iBasis' PremiumCertified international routing product, which delivers the company's DirectVoIP Broadband IP interconnection service.

 

"Like the Internet itself, Yahoo! is ubiquitous," said iBasis' president and CEO Ofer Gneezy in a statement. "By delivering innovative services and compelling features to their enormous customer base, Yahoo! is playing a major role in the transformation of how people communicate. They did it with Yahoo! Messenger, and now they will do it with Yahoo! Messenger with Voice. We're very excited to be an integral part of the service."

 

AT&T (News - Alert) and Yahoo! had announced their integrated Internet-based voice communications services back in April. The companies will offer a co-branded version of Yahoo! Messenger with Voice to AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet subscribers and all Yahoo! users in AT&T's traditional 13-state local service area.

 

As part of this expanded relationship, AT&T will be Yahoo!'s preferred network termination provider for the PC-based calling services in Yahoo! Messenger with Voice service globally. Yahoo! launched, out of beta testing, the newest version of Yahoo! Messenger with Voice to consumers worldwide on that month as well.

 

iBasis

Yahoo! Inc.

 

 

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Johanne Torres is contributing editor for TMCnet and Internet Telephony magazine. To see more articles by Johanne Torres, please visit Johanne Torres' columnist page.