By now, most people are probably aware that the home phone is on its last legs, as more of us embrace mobile phones. Still, though, there are people that love the home phone. Good news then, because Telstra has found a way to connect them up.
Provided you’re a Telstra customer with either an ADSL or NBN plan (you lucky person you), you will now be able to grab an app that lets you make home line calls using your smartphone, provided it’s an Android or iOS (iPhone) device.
“The home phone remains central to how many Australian families communicate and our customers have told us they’d like more choice and convenience in how they make and receive their calls on the devices they love,” said Jennifer Douglas, Director of Fixed Voice at Telstra.
“We are excited to be bringing this innovation to market to make home phone calling even easier and more enjoyable for our customers.”
The app is called “T-Voice” and relies on a platform that talks to the existing home phone network, and while you can always use your regular home phone, you can use the app to pick up calls and make them, sharing contacts to other devices connected on the home gateway, meaning you’ll need to be connected over WiFi to make this work.
A representative for Telstra confirmed to GadgetGuy that any call you get to the home number can be picked up by the app, and any call that is made or answered can be “barged into” using the home phone, allowing your parents to join in when it’s their time to talk to that loved one.
In fact, several callers can be added with a three way feature on the ADSL version, while up to five people can join in the call if they have the NBN.
“The app can be downloaded on up to seven compatible devices associated with each household gateway, allowing the whole family to make and receive calls from their preferred device including mobile, tablet and iPod,” said Douglas.
“The app also allows them to easily access contacts and manage phone features like MessageBank and other Call Control features and best of all, calls are charged at home phone rates,” she said.
Pricing and availability on the T-Voice app is free with Telstra customers able to find it right now, provided they have an Apple smartphone or tablet, or even one of the many devices running Google’s Android operating system. You will need a Telstra internet account with a home phone line, however, and be using either Telstra’s Gateway Max or T-Gateway products for this to work, so no chance this will be useful if you’re using your own modem or router.
