500 customers to Woosh's new phone service

Broadband company Woosh Wireless has signed up 500 customers in its first two weeks of offering a telephone service.

Customers have clocked up close to 65,000 call minutes since the launch in mid-September, Woosh chief executive Bob Smith said.

The high-speed internet company is attempting to undercut telco giant Telecom with its wireless home phone service.

Woosh is offering a phone line from as little as $20 when customers take a broadband connection with them. This undercuts Telecom by as much as $15 on competing plans.

Woosh's service uses a network of cellphone towers to reach 70 per cent of Auckland, and parts of Wellington, Christchurch and Southland.

The phone uses Voice over internet Protocol (VoIP) technology, basically a secure internet line, so Woosh customers do not need to connect to the Telecom outlet in their home.

Mr Smith said the telephone takeup was "significantly ahead" of expectations, and the firm has had "considerable advance demand" from people not yet within coverage.

Woosh has a 30 per cent share of the high-speed internet market in areas where it competes with Telecom.

It is keen to achieve a similar share of the phone market.

Telecom currently has just over 1.4 million residential phone lines and around 210,000 residential broadband customers.

Woosh's internet subscriber numbers grew from 10,000 in April to just over 35,000 in September.

- NZPA