Web-activated telephony start-up Jajah, whose service undercuts the rates of traditional telecom giants, has just obtained support from an unlikely ally: Deutsche Telekom, reports ZDNet. This marks the first instance in which a major telecom has joined a company from the new wave of Internet calling services.

Jajah enables users to make calls online, bypassing traditional mobile or landline methods - along with the charges they bring with them. Long distance calls, for example, can be made for the same amount a local call would cost. Calls between Jajah users are free.

Because Jajah is software-based, it is also able to blend computer, Web and telephone features in a way that traditional telecom is currently not able to match.

With Jajah's assistance Deutsche Telekom hopes to offer similarly-structured calling services to individuals and businesses in the near-term. It has since begun embedding Jajah functionalities into its T-Online Web properties.

Analyst Will Stofega with IDC in Framingham, Mass. pointed out the deal is not one-sided. "At the end of the day these upstarts aren't going to go out and build new networks. Meanwhile, the telcos need help from companies like Jajah on the innovation side."