Summary:
Yahoo is expanding its reach in the fast-growing Internet calling market, offering a service that will allow people to make and receive low-cost computer calls to and from regular phones.The long-expected move could make the Sunnyvale company one of the biggest players in the Internet phone-calling market, along with eBay-owned Skype Technologies, Vonage and others.With the new service, the estimated 82 million people worldwide who use Yahoo instant messenger will be able to call any traditional fixed or wireless phone number in 180 countries.The service comes with a free voicemail box.Although the calls will not be free, they will be extraordinarily inexpensive -- a penny a minute to anywhere in the United States and less than 2 cents a minute to more than 30 countries, including China, Japan and Sweden.``These prices, in most cases, offer dramatic reductions over other competitors out there,'' said Jeff Bonforte, senior director of voice product management for Yahoo.The company briefed media outlets on the news earlier this week under agreements that they would not publish it until the service launched.The number of companies offering Internet calling -- also known as Voice over Internet protocol, or VoIP -- has soared in recent years as high-speed Internet use becomes more common.Most companies charge a monthly rate and their services are designed to be used as regular phones, except that the phone plugs into an Internet connection instead of a traditional phone network.AT&T, Vonage, Comcast, AOL and Packet8 are among the myriad companies with VoIP calling plans.Yahoo will charge $30 a year to purchase a phone number for incoming calls; Skype charges $35.

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