MONTREAL – VOIP provider babytel says it has eliminated the need to dial the area code when calling people within the same area code.
"The phone companies think they’ve trained us to the inevitability of tedious 10-digit dialing in our own area codes. Well, with today’s technology, it’s ridiculous and that’s why we’re offering seven-digit local calling to all Canadians," said company president Stephen Dorsey in a press release.
"Babytel’s move is one small step for mankind – back to a simpler time when your fingers did a little less walking," said independent telecom analyst Iain Grant of the Seaboard Group, in the babytel press release.
Beyond seven-digit local calling, an added benefit for babytel customers is that they need only dial the last four digits when calling other babytel users in the same exchange.
The company has also rolled out a "machineless fax", where the user can receive faxes as email attachments.
Babytel, which recently expanded its service into the United States, will be introducing other advanced services that exploit VoIP technology throughout 2007
