Verizon (NYSE:VZ) announced today that it is introducing its VoIP service to consumers throughout the U.S.  The much awaited product launch comes after some other players - some established (such as AT&T) and others new entrants (such as startup Vonage) - already had introduced their own VoIP offerings.

For the longest times, RBOCs were hesitant to offer VoIP services, since they undercut their main business of connecting calls over copper.  However, they had no choice but offer the service, because of the appetite of some cable players to encroach in the territory (Time Warner Cable, for instance, plans to make the service available to its customers by the end of the year) and the success that some startups have had (Vonage has captured more than 200,000 customers, many of which migrated away from their traditional phone lines).

Subscribers signing up with Verizon's DSL service will pay $34.95 a month for unlimited local and long-distance calls within the U.S. whereas customers having another ISP will be charged $39.95 a month for the same service.  This compares with a monthly rate of $59.95 for unlimited local and long-distance service over traditional lines.