Cincinnati Bell said it’s the first carrier in the nation to offer text messaging as a feature to customers’ landlines.

Yesterday, the company introduced its Smart Home Phone, which allows customers to send and receive SMS text messages. The phone lets subscribers view a list of their voicemail entries, play or delete them in any order, and read text messages.

With the new phone, customers can also look up information on Yellow Pages, and can read news, weather and sports updates.

The Smart Home Phone uses a combination of Cincinnati Bell's ZoomTown high-speed Internet and home phone services . The Smart Home Phone handset is $29.99 for customers who have a ZoomTown and home phone bundle while regular retail price is $129.99.

Smart Home Phone customers receive three months of free text messaging and SpinVox service, with the option to purchase unlimited texting for $9.99 per month and unlimited SpinVox for $5.99 per month after the trial period.

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