Calling home

Mumbai, Feb. 5: Videsh Sanchar Nigam (VSNL) today launched Tata Indicom India-On-Call cards, marking its entry into the retail market for voice services.

These cards enable Indians travelling overseas to call home or any other destination across the globe from any phone — payphones, mobiles and hotel phones. Businessmen, professionals, tourists, students and pilgrims are being seen as the target group of customers.

The service will initially be available for calls from the US but will soon be extended Europe, West Asia and the Asia-Pacific region, including Australia. The cards come in denominations of Rs 540, Rs 1,080 and Rs 2,160.

“The launch of the Tata Indicom International Inbound calling card is an important milestone for VSNL. It is the first attempt to tap the global retail market for inbound calls and is our maiden retail foray into voice,” company managing director S. K. Gupta said.

VSNL is eyeing 4.2 million Indians travelling abroad and nearly 20 million NRIs. Analysts say possible tie-ups with travel agencies organising tours abroad will make the cards could a part of the travel kit.

The cards offer high-quality voice communication from overseas to India as well as other destinations around the globe at competitive prices, the company said. It will be available online and at airports, travel agencies and other retail outlets owned by the company.

The Tatas-controlled international telephony major will now make money from a segment virtually untapped or serviced in large part by foreign companies.