An upstart internet telephone firm has introduced a method for US mobile telephone users to call land line phones around the world for as little as $0.02 a minute on top of basic rates, a Reuters report said.
I2 Telecom International said its calling service, myglobaltalk.com, lets smartphones such as the latest models of Research in Motion's Blackberry email phone place direct calls overseas, the Reuters report said.
The i2 service also works with other smartphones with data transmission plans, including the Samsung Blackjack, Palm Treo and the Motorola Moto Q.
The company said it is seeking approval from Apple to offer the service via iPhones.
The service, which requires users to be able to download i2 software to their phones, costs as little as two to three cents a minute to reach fixed lines on top of normal US domestic charges.
Calls to countries with higher tariffs can cost much more and calls to mobile phones in other countries are also more expensive, the company said.
Rival Voice over internet Protocol mobile phone companies require a call to the company's access switch and then place a second phone call, company executives said.
I2 Telecom boasts it has few competitors for its service, which requires only a single call. That can mean one-touch dialing for numbers stored in the phone's address book.