A new consumer VOIP startup – Ooma – launches on Thursday morning. Ooma allows consumers to use their normal phones to make and receive telephone calls, but at drastically reduced prices.

Vonage provides unlimited calling in the U.S. and Canada for a flat $25/month. Ooma, however, is charging for hardware only and all calls in the U.S. are free.

That hardware though, is not cheap and starts at $399, plus of course, you need that broadband Internet connection. That buys you a base hub. You plug broadband ethernet into one end, and a normal phone into the other, and you’re all set.

You can wire your whole house with additional units, called Scouts, plugging one end into a normal phone jack and connecting it with a normal phone. It’s then part of the Ooma system and all calls will be free.

Every Ooma account includes two lines, and either can be accessed from either phone.