Vodafone planning bundled wireless voice/data service

Vodafone's German arm, apparently seeking to defend itself against free and
cheap VoIP and WiFi services, is rolling out a bundled service with a wireless router that will allow customers to transmit both voice and data over the company's 3G
network for a flat monthly fee. The service, Vodafone At Home Talk and Web, will be an expanded version of two separate services, Vodafone at Home Talk, and, yes, Vodafone at Home Web, which was rolled out at CeBIT. In announcing the services, Vodafone COO Friedrich P Joussen responded to a question about the challenge from free services by saying that the best defense is to roll out competitive products as quickly as possible. Another defense might be to cut their prices a little more; at €500, Vodafone's wireless box is a pretty steep investment — especially if the alternative is a laptop connected to Skype.