Belgium's Mobistar launches VoIP

Mobistar, the Belgian wireless division of Orange, is getting into fixed-lined telephony by deploying VoIP. The Brussels-based mobile voice service provider launched ADSL Voice as an alternative to Belgacom land line subscriptions. Belgacom sold its 5 percent stake in Mobistar last February.

Mobistar noted that one-third of Belgians no longer have a fixed line; one-third want to keep a fixed line; and the rest are ready to let go of their fixed line. In February, Mobistar AtHome was launched for making cell calls to fixed line numbers cheaper than fixed-to-fixed line calls. The service has 50,000 subscribers.

Mobistar's  SIP-based ADSL Voice is deployed via the company's Livebox modem over a naked land line. Livebox is also a WiFi router that allows the connection of up to four devices, e.g., PCs, game consoles, etc. A consortium of U.S. companies, including Microsoft and Google, are believed to be working on a similar device for use in fallow broadcast TV channels, but they've not yet demonstrated its efficacy to the Federal Communications Commission.

For More:
- Mobistar's official news is here

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