Every little hurts

Two mega-value readers point out the Tesco VoIP assault. The phone is butt ugly, but the starter pack at GBP19.97 includes GBP5 of free calls, making it a GBP15 proposition for a USB phone and a number. Plus Tesco will be able to sell more broadband at point-of-sale, if anecdotes from the US are anything to go by. Most importantly, for people who live outside the UK and may not be familiar with it, I think it's entirely fair to say that the closest comparison to Tesco is Walmart. A helluva lot of people shop there because it is cheaper, there are more stores, they may not know any better, or there may be no alternative near home - or because they just plain like it. People who have never heard of VoIP will be buying this, because it is cheap and because it is Tesco.