Freephone2phone, Inc. is offering consumers a way to make free long distance and international calls.
What's the catch? You have to sit through a couple of ads, then talk quickly.
The company has launched a public beta of the new service so consumers can try it. First, you go to their website and dial an access number. You listen to one or two 10-second ads, then dial the number you want to call.
Once connected, you can talk up to five minutes free in the U.S. and over 50 other countries. All calls must originate in the U.S.
Unlike Skype, Vonage or magicJack, no sign up is required, neither is computer access or any special equipment, the company said in a release.
At the end of 5 minutes, you'll hear warning beeps giving you an extra 30 seconds to wind up your conversation. Calls can be made anytime from any US-based phone wired or wireless - to the most popular destinations in North America, Europe,South America, and Asia.
U.S. telecom providers typically charge 10 cents per minute or more on long distance calls from landlines and over 20 cents per minute to call overseas if you belong to their international calling plans and more than $1.00 if you do not, the company said. Freephone2phone enables any U.S. phone user to avoid these charges simply by paying the cost of a local phone call or by using cell phone minutes included in most standard plans.
Use caution
Freephone2phone supports the free service with the ads, which it says offer consumers other ways to save money. When we called a local access number we heard an ad that prompted us to press a number to receive a text message.
Keep in mind that doing so can incur addition charges from your provider and perhaps sign you up for products and services you might not want. While the service is free, responding to the ads may not be.
Freephone2phone is promoting the service as a way for cash-strapped consumers to save money. Keep in mind the service is free only if it doesn't cost anything to dial the access number.
If the closest access number is outside your area, you will be charged for a long distance call, negating any savings. If you use your cell phone to call the access number, it will count against your minutes. While it saves you nothing on domestic long distance calls, it might provide savings for international calls.
On its web site, Freephone2phone publishes over 150 local access numbers to immediately place calls from cities throughout the United States.
