BSNL set to offer net telephony

BSNL set to offer net telephony
6 Sep, 2007, 0300 hrs IST,Joji Thomas Philip & Deepshikha Monga, TNN
NEW DELHI: Soon, BSNL broadband users will be able to make international calls to any part of the world for as low as Re 1 per minute through their fixedline phones. The PSU is all set to float a global tender for technical tie-up to offer internet telephony services across the country.

BSNL is looking to offer internet telephony, or Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP), by the year end, a top company official told ET on condition of anonymity. That may make BSNL the second telco after MTNL to offer VoIP, where subscribers can enjoy ultra-cheap ISD calls without even having a computer at home.

The PSU had invited expressions of interest (EoIs) from all interested companies latest by August 31, the official said. "However, the EoIs are expected to come in only by September 14-15 as BSNL received too many pre-bid enquiries seeking a lot of clarifications on the tendering process. The tenders will be released by September 15," the source said.

Last month, MTNL, which offers telecom services in Delhi and Mumbai, had launched internet telephony in these metros by utilising its broadband network. MTNL had tied up with Aksh Optifibre to be its network and technical partner to offer VoIP services. As per the deal, Aksh will invest about Rs 110 crore towards enabling MTNL’s VoIP service during the next three years.

The MTNL offer is open to those who did not have a PC at home. Such customers are required to subscribe to MTNL’s broadband connection (which comes for monthly rentals starting at Rs 199) and buy an analog telephone adaptor (ATA) for Rs 1,500.

The adaptor converts the fixedline phone into an IP (internet protocol) device so that the user does not have to use a computer and carry it over the broadband internet line. Globally, this kind of service, which is fixed to one location, is generally offered by broadband internet providers such as cable and telephone companies as a cheaper flat-rate equivalent to the traditional landline service.

Sources said that BSNL, which has one million broadband users, too would offer similar schemes to its subscribers. Tariffs too are expected to be on similar lines. This implies, for those who make PC-to-PC calls, the tariffs are likely to be as low as 10 paise per minute, while a call made from a PC to a landline or mobile abroad would cost a little over Re 1 per minute on account of the termination charges. At the same time, BSNL also plans to open up its internet telephony services to its 2.5 million plus PCOs in the country.

While private operators have so far refrained from matching MTNL’s move, BSNL’s entry into this segment is set to change the market dynamics and force other operators to follow suit. So far, all major telcos have not ventured into internet telephony as they fear it will eat into their revenues from traditional mobile and fixedline calls.

VoIP or internet telephony is the routing of voice calls over the internet or any other Internet Protocol-based network, where the data is split into millions of packets and packets of identical nature are routed together. On the other hand, a traditional landline call establishes a direct link or a pipe between the caller and the dialled number.