One of biggest ISPs in the U.S., EarthLink has begun a beta test of WiFi handsets for local home VoIP use or for use near any public hotspot. The pricing is remarkably low: A package including a cradle that doubles as the access point and a handheld unit costs just $100. The company is positioning the service as a less expensive alternative to a landline, or in some cases, cell phones. Vonage also recently inked a deal with EarthLink to offer wireless VoIP services in its muniwireless deployments.

For more on EarthLink's latest beta test:
- check out this article [1] from InformationWeek