Telstra brings home phone calls to mobile devices with T-Voice app
Telstra has launched an app that lets home phone and broadband customers make and answer landline calls from their smartphone or tablet.
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As home phones and landlines give way to the rise of mobile, Telstra has announced a new app that will let customers make and receive calls via their home phone using a mobile or tablet device.
The T-Voice App is available for ADSL and NBN home broadband customers with a home phone plan, and lets users make or answer phone calls from within the home, all whilst being charged at home phone rates.
While the technology is being billed as an Australian first, it's not the first time Telstra has piggybacked new technology on to a legacy system. The telco launched the new Telstra Air network this year (after first trialling the technology in 2014) creating a network of Wi-Fi hotspots that beam out of Telstra public phone boxes.
Now the telco has taken a similar approach to fuse old and new, saying the T-Voice app will help customers get the most out of their home call allowances.
"Most of Telstra's bundles include unlimited local and national calls and the T-Voice app makes it easier to take advantage of these plan inclusions on any compatible device of choice within the home," said Telstra Director of Fixed Voice Jennifer Douglas.
The app connects mobile devices to the Gateway (Telstra's branding for its newest generation of home modems) via Wi-Fi. The smartphone or tablet then uses the same technology platform that you would use to make ordinary voice calls on Telstra's home phone network, with the telco promising "the same clear, high quality and reliable calling experience."
Once it's set up, Telstra customers will be able to answer incoming landline calls via their mobile, while features such as MessageBank, call forwarding and call waiting can also all be managed through the mobile device. The T-Voice app can be downloaded on up to seven compatible devices to be linked to the one home Gateway.
"In an age where the average Australian household has multiple smartphones and tablets, the free T-Voice app puts fixed line voice calls at customers' fingertips with just a touch of the screen from their preferred device," said Douglas.
The T-Voice app is available for download from Google Play and the App Store and is compatible with the Telstra Gateway Max and T-Gateway on the NBN and ADSL networks.