Originally published August 15 2005
New phone system allows people to make phone calls over the web
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
South Korea's Information Ministry has announced the release of an 11-digit telephone number to allow people to make phone calls over the web.
South Korea's Information Ministry said Friday it will introduce an 11-digit telephone number system for an Internet telephone service that allows users to make or receive calls over the web.
In June, the ministry granted licenses to seven Internet-based telephone service operators including KT Corp, Hanarotelecom Inc and Dacom Corp.
Under the ministry's guideline, the operators are expected to launch commercial services by the end of November.
Aside from the seven government-licensed operators, the ministry also allowed eight smaller companies to operate the Internet-based call service.
Under the 11-digit numbering system that uses a prefix of 070, about 7.8 million numbers will be assigned to 15 Internet call service providers, the ministry said.
The seven government-licensed operators will get one million Internet call numbers each by a lottery.
The remaining eight were already given 100,000 numbers each, the ministry said.
The Internet telephone service, which allows calls to be routed over high-speed Internet connections instead of conventional copper wires, has been around for years but customers can only make, rather than receive, calls because they do not have the required telephone numbers.
The new service is already gaining acceptance in the international telephone market due to its low cost.
And because customers' voices are transmitted via the data networks, the new technology promises to offer access to other web-based applications such as videoconferencing.
Conventional fixed-line telephone operators such as KT and Hanarotelecom are trying to launch the commercial Internet telephone services amid a widespread dilemma that the low-cost telephone technology could hurt their revenues.
All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing LLC takes sole responsibility for all content. Truth Publishing sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. NaturalNews.com is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. For the full terms of usage of this material, visit www.NaturalNews.com/terms.shtml