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Telecommunications industry

Qwest Communications Launches Q.talk Service for Long-Distance Calls

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Qwest Communications has launched a new long-distance calling service using Internet technology, allowing customers in nine cities to make high-quality calls to anywhere in the lower 48 states at a flat rate of 7.5 cents per minute. The service, Q.talk, uses Qwest's 16,000-mile fiber-optic network to run Internet telephone calls without compression, enabling the low price. As the first big player in the Internet phone field, Qwest has attracted attention from market research firm Frost & Sullivan, which predicts the retail market for voice-over IP will grow 39 percent.

Key Takeaways:

  • Qwest Communications has launched a new long-distance calling service called Q.talk, which uses Internet technology to enable high-quality calls at a flat rate of 7.5 cents per minute.
  • The service uses Qwest's 16,000-mile fiber-optic network and is available in nine cities, including Denver, Kansas City, and six California cities.
  • Q.talk requires customers to dial a local number, enter a nine-digit identification code, and then the number they're calling.
  • The call will travel over Qwest's packet-switched network and then reconnect with the regular circuit-switched phone network.
  • Qwest plans to add another 16 cities to the Q.talk program by mid-1998.
  • The service has attracted attention from market research firm Frost & Sullivan, which predicts the retail market for voice-over IP will grow 39 percent.
  • Qwest will partner with Hughes Electronics Corp. to market high-speed data transmission services to phone companies.
  • The partnership will provide frames that enable frame relay and asynchronous transfer mode connections, which enable local-area networks to connect remotely and send data, voice, and video.

Statistics:

  • 7.5 cents per minute: the flat rate for Q.talk.
  • 16,000 miles: the length of Qwest's fiber-optic network.
  • 9 cities: the initial cities where Q.talk is available.
  • 16 cities: the number of cities Qwest plans to add to the Q.talk program by mid-1998.
  • 39 percent: the predicted growth rate of the retail market for voice-over IP.
  • 229 percent: the predicted growth rate of the corporate and carrier market for voice-over IP.

Sources:

  • (Reuters, 1998)
  • Lisa Greim, Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer.

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