IT News: DTS to launch long distance calls over Internet
THE HINDU
Monday, February 07, 2000
NEW DELHI -- Long distance calls in the country between select metros could become cheaper by 25 to 50 per cent by the end of this year, according to the Department of Telecom Services (DTS) Secretary, Mr. P. S. Saran. The DTS, he said, has decided to launch a pilot project for passing voice traffic over the Internet protocol covering Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, Calcutta and Pune.
Different from the internet telephony which is banned, this project would utilise internet technology (protocol) to send voice through a different manner than is being done at present. Since the technology uses circuits more efficiently, the costs should be lower. However, the voice quality might not be as good, cautioned Mr. Saran. "We would treat it as a separate service and give it a different tariff," he stated.
Citing the example of AT & T in the United States, he said while long distance telephony through the conventional method costs 10 cents, the company charges 25 per cent less for voice over internet protocol. The Telecom Department aims to follow this policy and plans to extend the service to other cities over time. Mr. Saran said the DTS had tested various variations of wireless in local loop technology in urban areas. Experiments in rural areas were continuing. The deployment of this technology which obviates the need for wiring the subscriber's premises and also enables the phone to be used as a sort of mobile phone would bring down waiting lists in densely crowded areas specially in Kerala where the waiting list in some cases was over three years old. |
