Teleo
Encyclopedia
Teleo was a peer-to-peer
internet telephony (VoIP) network
, founded by Wendell Brown
and Andy Moeck. Teleo users could speak to other Teleo users for free, call traditional telephone
numbers for a fee, and receive calls from traditional phones.
Teleo was acquired by Microsoft
on 31 August 2005.
Teleo provided internet telephony applications that bridged the gap between computer desktops and regular telephones and cell phones. Teleo's software integrated with computer desktops and allowed users to place and receive telephone calls from Microsoft Outlook, Internet Explorer, and other applications. Teleo allowed users to place PC-to-PC calls to other Teleo users anywhere in the world for free, even over wifi connections and behind firewalls. Calls from regular telephones were also offered for free. Calls to regular telephones were "pay as you go" using flexible PSTN minutes with 2¢ per minute calling anywhere in the world. If users wanted to avoid using PSTN minutes, they were encouraged to simply get their friends and business associates to install Teleo, and thus be able to place and receive calls from them for free, no matter where they were in the world.
Teleo was an early competitor to Skype
.
Peer-to-peer
Peer-to-peer computing or networking is a distributed application architecture that partitions tasks or workloads among peers. Peers are equally privileged, equipotent participants in the application...
internet telephony (VoIP) network
Telecommunications network
A telecommunications network is a collection of terminals, links and nodes which connect together to enable telecommunication between users of the terminals. Networks may use circuit switching or message switching. Each terminal in the network must have a unique address so messages or connections...
, founded by Wendell Brown
Wendell Brown
Wendell Brown is an American computer scientist and entrepreneur best known for his innovations in telecommunications. Brown has founded several well-known companies, including Teleo, LiveOps, and eVoice.-Education:...
and Andy Moeck. Teleo users could speak to other Teleo users for free, call traditional telephone
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
numbers for a fee, and receive calls from traditional phones.
Teleo was acquired by Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
on 31 August 2005.
Teleo provided internet telephony applications that bridged the gap between computer desktops and regular telephones and cell phones. Teleo's software integrated with computer desktops and allowed users to place and receive telephone calls from Microsoft Outlook, Internet Explorer, and other applications. Teleo allowed users to place PC-to-PC calls to other Teleo users anywhere in the world for free, even over wifi connections and behind firewalls. Calls from regular telephones were also offered for free. Calls to regular telephones were "pay as you go" using flexible PSTN minutes with 2¢ per minute calling anywhere in the world. If users wanted to avoid using PSTN minutes, they were encouraged to simply get their friends and business associates to install Teleo, and thus be able to place and receive calls from them for free, no matter where they were in the world.
Teleo was an early competitor to Skype
Skype
Skype is a software application that allows users to make voice and video calls and chat over the Internet. Calls to other users within the Skype service are free, while calls to both traditional landline telephones and mobile phones can be made for a fee using a debit-based user account system...
.