Telstra launches T-Voice for landline calling via mobile devices

Telstra has launched an app that enables users to transform compatible mobile devices and tablets into home phones, and make fixed-line calls using the telco's National Broadband Network (NBN) and ADSL infrastructure.

Using the T-Voice app, unveiled on Tuesday, Telstra customers will be able to make and receive calls on up to seven mobile devices including tablets and smartphones at landline rates while at home, and share contacts across these devices.

"In an age where the average Australian household has multiple smartphones and tablets, the free T-Voice app puts fixed-line voice calls at customers' fingertips with just a touch of the screen from their preferred device," said Jennifer Douglas, director of Fixed Voice and Premium Service at Telstra.

"If you're on a Telstra ADSL or NBN broadband service, you can now download the free T-Voice app on to compatible tablets and devices to make and receive calls at home phone rates, giving you greater choice, convenience, and value whilst at home."

According to Telstra, around 1.6 billion fixed-line calls were made during FY15, with the telco hoping to improve this by tapping into the proliferation of mobile devices.

"We've taken on the challenge of modernising the home phone and incorporating it with the smart device functionality we all love," Douglas wrote in a blog post.

T-Voice is compatible with Wi-Fi gateway offerings Telstra Gateway Max and T-Gateway on the NBN and ADSL networks, with customers connected to the NBN able to make high-definition calls using the T-Voice 502 handset.

Telstra's new app is another attempt by the telco to tap into the universal shift by consumers from traditional voice and SMS to more data-based services, such as VoIP calling, online messaging apps, and streaming entertainment services.

Telstra last week updated its prepaid mobile plans, enabling customers to retain call credit and data for an additional 28 days, provided they top up their account by at least AU$30 before the period's expiry date is reached.

Telstra's Prepaid Freedom Plus monthly plans grant customers with 1.3GB and AU$250 worth of calls for AU$30; its AU$40 plan provides 3GB of data and AU$750 of calls; and the top-tier AU$50 plan sees customers given 4GB of data and AU$1,500 of call credit.

Telstra is also slated to bring its Telstra TV service to users in October, which will provide access to streaming entertainment across Netflix, Presto, and Stan, as well as offering 12-month subscriptions to Apple Music after shuttering its MOG music-streaming service in July.

Australia's incumbent telco recently announced its results for the 2014-15 financial year, reporting a net profit after tax of AU$4.29 billion, down AU$260 million or 5.8 percent year on year from last year's AU$4.55 billion. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) decreased by 3.5 percent, down from AU$11.1 billion to AU$10.7 billion.

It noted that growth will increase next financial year thanks to the launch of its AU$100 million "Telstra Air" national Wi-Fi network in June, which had signed up 100,000 customers as of the end of last month.

Telstra also said its national 4G network now provides coverage to 94 percent of the population, with the telco continuing its 4G network expansion in order to service 99 percent of Australians. As of the end of the financial year, Telstra had 7.7 million 4G devices on its network.

Telstra's 4GX network provides speeds of up to 450Mbps on Category 9 devices, with the telco also recently confirming that a 5G network will be launched by the end of the decade, expected to provide speeds of up to 10GB per second.

The T-Voice app can be downloaded on Apple's App Store and on Google Play.