at the Times. It was essentially a free international number that terminated in Iowa and then connected you to international numbers anywhere around the world. We used it quite a bit until they yanked it.

It took advantage of some sort of loophole, explained here, that involves some sort of rural carrier arbitrage deal, whatever that means. Apparently some lobbyists and government types essentially shut down the number recently and there will be no free calls for you… or perhaps not?

What I don’t understand is why the telcos don’t just create a Skype-killer and offer flat rate calls all over the world. They can make their money on selling home Internet access and grab a large chunk of late adopters.

FuturePhone, a Thing of the Past? [GigaOm]