Wi-Fi technology is in its infancy. But it's setting off a battle about something old. The phone.

Telephone companies are running scared. And it's all over who owns the right to sell you phone service as more and more calls are being made "online".

Companies - like Verizon and BellSouth - are starting to give away free Wi-Fi equipment to capture new high-speed Internet customers before the cable companies do.

It's no secret that millions of people are already using wireless at home and work for everything from Internet access to file sharing. But most of these consumers bought their service from cable companies, who were previously more successful at winning over these wireless customers.

But last year, when telephone companies started slashing DSL prices to take market share - they started to catch up. In fact, they added 1.2 million new DSL subscribers in the first quarter 2004, doubling the growth from the year before.

The phone companies have two important reasons to act aggressively.

One, setting up home wireless networks is time consuming, making it much less likely for a customer to switch to a cable modem after making a commitment to DSL.

Two, and more importantly, keeping cable modems out of people's homes will make it harder for the cable companies to sign up their customers for voice-over Internet protocol (VOIP).

The phone and cable companies are no longer battling over Internet access, but the future of the phone companies' core voice service.

Will you be able to cut the cord?