Mediacom customers in the Quad-Cities soon will be able to add home telephone service to the television subscription and high-speed Internet services already available from the company.

Mediacom Communications Corporation has signed an agreement with Sprint to enable Mediacom to provide Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, telephone service to 2.7 homes in 23 states.

LeeAnn James, senior manager of government affairs for Mediacom in the Quad-Cities, said the bundling of telecommunications services will potentially save customers money compared to splitting the services between different providers.

„We’ll be able to do everything from one line and customers will be able to pay all services with one check,’’ James said. „Mediacom will be providing a competitive alternative to local and long distance phone companies but customers will still be able to get their long distance service from other carriers.

„If a family makes a lot of overseas calls, it might be more economical for them to use another plan. ’’

James said customers will not have to change phone numbers or equipment to use Mediacom for telephone service. The launch is scheduled for early 2005.

„It will not be necessary to subscribe to our video or high speed Internet services to receive the phone service, but there will be a cost savings overall if customers do that,’’ James said. „There will be bundling advantages for customers.

James said that the price point for local and unlimited long distance telephone service will be $40 per month, including some premium calling features.

Mediacom chairman and CEO Rocco Commissio said; „The strategic alliance with Sprint will permit our company to offer our customers a powerful bundle of broadband products in one package, on one bill, from one provider and at a lower cost.

The Sprint-Mediacom deal is the third Sprint has announced in the past eight months to provide a cable provider with VoIP technology. Last December Sprint and Time Warner Cable announced a similar agreement.

Wireless telephone service is expected to be the next step in the Sprint-Mediacom deal.

Mediacom is the eighth-largest cable television company in the country. The company focuses on smaller cities and towns.

Sprint provides communications service to more than 26 million customers in more than 100 countries. Company sales last year were $26 billion.