Effective Living > Technology > Apple > iPhone
Summary. This document is about an Apple iPhone application called Line2 by Toktumi, a provider of online Voice Over IP web-based telephone services. Toktumi has services similar to Skype, but more elaborate.
Note: At the time of writing this article, the Toktumi site was functioning, but then moments later the site shut down due to ongoing cyber attacks of Toktumi’s website that have been reported by the Christian Science Monitor.
Cost. The cost is about $15 per month for maintaining a second phone line that is Internet accessible, even from an iPhone.
Services. For those simply needing a second phone line, most phone companies offer a second phone number (and phone) for about $10 per month. However, Toktumi’s services go way beyond those of a simple telephone.
Alternatives. Similar products from Google and Skype are also available for making and receiving phone calls. Anyone wanting to make phone calls using the iPhone through another provider in areas where wireless Internet service is not available can use a mobile hotspot from Sprint or Verizon.
Consumer and Service Issues. The agreement between ATT and Apple states that no application will be able to use the ATT cellular phone network to make phone calls. So, existing telephony applications must use a wireless connection. Presuming this is the case with the Line2 application, it will only work when there is an adequate Internet wireless signal (or wireless hotspot such as those available from Verizon or Sprint). If Toktumi has somehow figured out a way to circumvent the agreement, then users could actually use the application to make unlimited phone calls through the ATT network. However, this would not address consumer concerns about the reliability and spotty coverage of ATT telephone service coverage. Although the ATT coverage map is painted with a broad brush, many people have discovered dead zones in cities where ATT (falsely?) advertises full coverage. ATT has yet to respond to numerous consumer complaints about these dead zones.
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Credits. Thanks to Jonathan Sabin of Vortex Business Solutions for telling us about the Line2 Application by Toktumi.