Vonage, the broadband phone company, announced that Office Depot will now sell its IP communications services in over 700 of its stores as well as online.

Last week, rival AT&T announced that their CallVantage service would be available online at Amazon.com and at over 600 Best Buy outlets nationwide.

At this rate, how long will it be before my wife send me out to the local 7-11 store to pick up milk and I come home with a new phone service? (Please, no replies about how most of the phone cards sold over the Qwikie-Mart counter are utilizing VoIP already.)

All kidding aside, this mass marketing of VoIP services bodes well for our industry, as this puts VoIP in the spotlight and gives people an alternative to traditional phone services.

Anyhow, customers can sign up for Vonage service by purchasing one of two Vonage starter kits at Office Depot, both featuring Linksys devices. Either device offers customers the ability to select one of several flat-rate, full-featured residential and small business broadband telephony calling plans in the U.S. and Canada starting at $14.99.

"The national roll out of Vonage's broadband telephony product at Office Depot presents a great opportunity, which will allow us to prove the value of our products on retail shelves," said Daniel Elwell, director of New Business Development for Vonage. "We are looking forward to transform the telecommunications industry with successful sales margins with one of the nation's top retailers, as Office Depot's market savvy and educated sales representatives demonstrate the value of broadband phone service to an untapped market segment."

Vonage is sold directly through their Web site and retail partners such as Amazon.com, RadioShack, Best Buy, Circuit City, Staples and Office Depot.

Last week, Vonage announced the closing of a $105 million series D financing round led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA) with strong participation from 3i, Meritech Capital Partners and existing investors. This latest round of financing brings total investment in the company to $208 million.