UPDATED:  A Ministry of Economic Development discussion paper also suggests mandatory location and power services for VoIP (internet calliing) devices.

Vodafone has launched its first voice over internet protocol (VoIP) service, an all-in-one voice, landline and broadband package called Easy Office.

Some customers say the company's call centre has taken hours to access. Others have complained about voicemail and set-up bugs.

Belgian-based Internet telephone provider Skype is lobbying US and European regulators in earnest to allow users to make free or cheap calls over the internet on their mobile phones.

As traditional telcos grapple with their transition to the digital age, the search giant is set to announce its new Google Voice today. Voice will offer free domestic VoIP calls, a single number that rings on any phone you own, and transcribes voice mail - which will be placed, alongside email, in a single inbox, accessible from anywhere.

It may not have impressed competitors, who have been waiting since the 1990s for the dominant telco to embrace VoIP (voice-over-internet-protocol), but the first-ever IP call was made over a Telecom landline today. Rivals grouse that Telecom refuses to set a timetable for going all-IP, and may follow a relaxed schedule that hinders competition.