UPC offers fixed line rates from mobiles

Polish triple-play cable provider UPC Poland, a division of US-based Liberty Global Inc (LGI), has announced the launch of a free service, UPC Phone. The offering allows customers using a smartphone connected to either 3G or Wi-Fi networks to receive and make calls to/from a UPC landline at no additional cost. UPC advertises the service as way to cut down roaming charges whilst abroad, noting that as long as the customer has internet access on their handset calls made via UPC Phone are charged as if made from the location of the UPC landline. According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database, UPC Poland claimed 809,000 broadband subscribers at the end of June 2012, representing a market share of 14.7%.