RCN to Add VoIP in Chicago

RCN Corp. plans to add voice-over-Internet-protocol service to its entire Chicago market by the end of October.

"This VoIP rollout accomplishes two very important things for RCN: We control the entire customer experience for our VoIP customers without relying on the local phone company, and we also significantly reduce our equipment costs with VoIP technology," RCN chairman David McCourt said in a prepared statement.

He added that RCN has been adding 30 customers per day in its initial trial area. The service will include E-911 capability with battery backup.

The addition follows RCN's launch of subscription video-on-demand, as well as online music and gaming through its cable-modem service, which now features download speeds of 7 megabits per second.