Voice over IP Startup Acquired

Voice over IP (VoIP) start-up Teleo has been acquired by Microsoft, paving the way for PC-to-phone connectivity in MSN Messenger. The acquisition places Microsoft in competition with VoIP specialists, particularly Skype, and could vault MSN Messenger ahead of its competition, including the recently released Google Talk. Eventually, Microsoft could create a service that allows Live Communications Server customers to avoid long-distance telephone charges by routing voice calls over the Internet and through Teleo’s gateways.

Positioned Against Skype

Teleo was founded in 2003, and in Mar. 2005 the company began beta testing a subscription-based service and associated PC client software that offered the following features:

• Voice calls between PCs with Teleo clients at no extra charge
• The ability to receive calls on a PC from the public switched telephone network (PSTN, the traditional phone system) in the United States and some other areas at no extra charge; users were guided through