[London, ENGLAND] A partnership, announced Monday, between
international PC-to-phone service provider
Go2Call and student
portal Student.co.uk
will give free Internet phone calling to three million students
in the U.K.
Making a call will be easy — students will log on to the
Student.co.uk home page, enter the number they wish to call,
and hit “go.” The only requirements are a computer, Internet
access, a 28k or better connection speed, and a headset.
Matt McGuinness, commercial manager of Student.co.uk, said
that the free calling service would be a fitting complement
to the free resources his site already offers.
“Go2Call’s free calling service will give U.K. students a
voice to speak up, be heard and, best of all, communicate
with each other for free,” said McGuinness.
In the early days of Internet telephony, both the caller
and receiver needed to have a computer and be online at
the same time to speak to each other. Now, with PC-to-phone
calling, all that has changed.
Still in its pre-IPO phase, Go2Call offers free, Web-based
calling across the U.S, Canada and Europe. Funded by
First Analysis Venture Capital it was founded in 1998
and acts as a one-stop resource for Internet telephony
and related information.
Larry Spear, co-founder of Go2Call, said that the
targeting of students was part of his company’s strategic
expansion plan.
“Students are on the cutting edge of technology and are
extremely comfortable using the Internet to improve their
lives,” said Spear.
Student.co.uk operates six Web sites comprising the Student
Online Network. It is planning an official re-launch on
October 2, accompanied by a substantial promotion and
many new services. Among its new offerings will be a
selection of holiday packages, a network of searchable
offers and products, and an SMS text-message-reminder service.