M A I N   N E W S

Now, call abroad at local rates
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 24
There is some good news to look forward in the forthcoming Budget.

Calling friends and relatives in Toronto, Birmingham or New York, may not pinch the pocket anymore. It would be as calling from one Sector to another in City Beautiful.

If the Economic Survey for 2000-01 is any indication, the opening of Internet telephony may be part of the forthcoming Union Budget announcements.

“Some policy issues that still need to be addressed include tariff rebalancing, opening of Internet telephony, convergence of services and single license regime”, the Survey said.

The acceptance of the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) would entail legitimising telephone calls via the Internet in India. This would effectively reduce the call tariffs for international calls, for under the VoIP regime, local tariffs will apply.

Experts, however, pointed out that the effectiveness of the VoIP regime will critically depend on the density of telephones in the country, which at present is abysmally low.

Currently, in India, there are 28.4 million working connections, catering to a population in excess of 1 billion.

In another recommendation, the Economic Survey has called for innovative investment packages for the development the highway sector in the country.