Computer call: When your PC becomes a phone

While domestic call rates have dipped to a measly 1 paisa/second in the country, telecom companies still maintain steep rates for international calls. If Internet Service Providers are to be believed, internet telephony offers a way out, allowing users to make such calls for free from computers.

At present, a call can be made legally from a computer only to another computer within the country, and not to a phone. But domestic users are allowed to make international calls from their computers to a phone.

Internet telephony, if unrestricted, would also allow consumers to make calls to a computer from their mobile handsets.

Users have already begun to see sense in internet telephony. Take, for instance, Mumbai-based Vikram Duseja, an executive with P&G who is on the move 15 days a month. The countries and cities he travels to are mostly remote and unknown territories.

"During my official visits, I neither have the time to go and look for local phone cards nor do I have a clue about the international call rates charged by my telecom operator. The next best thing for me is to use my Wi-Fi enabled laptop for calling home," says Duseja.

"Wi-Fi is free at certain places abroad, like international airports and hotel lounges. It is, therefore, a better way for me to have lengthy conversations with my family back in Mumbai via a free Wi-Fi connection and any free internet telephony service provider," he reasons simply. This way, Duseja saves on roaming charges on his internet data card for the laptop and also on his mobile phone connection. There are other users who have similarly taken to internet telephony. Jitendra Tandel, a 27-year-old media executive, began using Voice over Internet Protocol applications purely to cut the long-distance phone bills he used to face to stay in touch with his brother in the UK.

"I speak to my brother once a month. By using internet telephony services, I end up saving close to 50 per cent on a call made either through a landline or through a mobile network," Tandel says.

Do PC calls result in savings?

Until June this year, Indians spent 135 million minutes on internet telephony, according to data from the Internet Service Providers' Association of India. Most view internet telephony as something that is not only cheap but also practical, like Afshan Ahmed, who manages the day-to-day operations of a Nashik-based NGO for street children.

"We have several NRI benefactors in the US, mainly in New Jersey and Chicago. Calling them on a monthly basis over a mobile phone would have eaten into our paltry funds," she says. The NGO, on Ahmed's insistence, moved to using Skype internet telephony. Today, a second-hand laptop, a broadband connection at a monthly rental of Rs 200 and a Skype service for Rs 500 per month allows the NGO to make cheap calls to its donors across the globe. Ahmed claims that this move has saved thousands of rupees for the NGO.

Companies like Geodesic have been quick to grab the opportunity. Kiran Kulkarni, co-founder and managing director of Geodesic, promotes internet telephony products that work without an internet connection.

"Geodesic's Spokn does not require an internet connection. Users can make domestic and international calls over PC-to-PC, phone-to-phone and PC-to-phone," he says. The company has also addressed the security protocol issue, which is the Indian government's biggest concern when it comes to VoIP usage. 

"We track the number from where the call is originating and the destination number. This data is freely shared with the regulatory authority," assures Kulkarni. On this count, Skype, the popular internet telephony solution provider for PC-to-PC calls, has run into trouble as it refuses to share encryption codes with Indian security agencies.

Who stands to benefit?

The user can get optimum value for money with VoIP (check box). Calls made to international destinations typically cost between Re 1 and Rs 2 per minute. For instance, Geodesic's Spokn allows calls to the UK and the US (mobile and landline) at 0.92 paisa per minute. Alok Shende, principal analyst and founder director, Ascentius, says: "International outbound VoIP services in India accounted for a Rs 85-crore revenue in 2008-09. These services comprise close to 15 per cent of the total international outbound voice minutes from India."
 

He adds that consumers prefer PC-to-PC VoIP calls. However, internet telephony solutions are different due to their ability to call international phone numbers - wired phone lines or wireless mobile phones.

India's 50 million odd internet users may not know every detail about the government's stand on internet telephony services, but they are fast realising the advantage that VoIP services offer.