Vebtel Obconic Internet Protocol is offering Internet telephony services by using voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technologies. Promoted at an initial investment of Rs 1 crore, the company is offering this service through its various ITSP (Internet Telephony Service Provider) partners in India to deliver quality services.

According to Kusumba S, managing director, Vebtel, the company has its network in the US with a capacity of three DS3 circuits, which would enable making around 3,000 simultaneous calls to the US and Canada. The direct route to most countries allows the company to offer competitive price for calling destinations like the US, Canada, UK, Singapore, Netherlands, France and Italy at Rs 4.40 per minute without any hidden costs. “In totality, Vebtel shall offer a true ‘plug-and-play’ PC-to-PC and PC-to-phone Internet telephony services rather than a ‘plug-and-pray’ service, even without using the conventional personal computer,” he said.

Kusumba said the voice market for international telephony in India had been projected at Rs 450 crore this year. With low computer penetration in India, this figure would be possible only from non-computer owners and corporates who have been allowed to use VoIP technologies. The access points, for the customers who use the company’s devices to connect to Internet directly, shall be made available at no extra cost within each short distance calling area of the current public telecom networks.

The company’s services and products include:

• Internet telephony calling cards available in denominations ranging from Rs 50 to Rs 5,000.
• A software to be used for establishing the call from a conventional computer, available for free download from the company’s website.
• A device that replaces a conventional personal computer named as ‘Vebtel Supertalk’.
• Devices that allow video Internet telephony calls from a Vebtel Video IP phone and a corporate or a call centre that can use its products like Vebtel 1 Port/2/EI gateway for simultaneous and multiple international voice calls on its list.

The company’s device for this service costs around Rs 9,900.

The company offers a suite of services for large corporates and enterprises for their branch-to-branch-to-head-office communication, which will reduce their billing on national and international voice traffic substantially. Vebtel products and services are available through a chain of distributors and dealers across the country serviced by its partner ITSPs.

The company has entered into agreements with ISPs from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, and agreements are to be signed for the states of Punjab, Gujarat and Maharashtra soon. The company’s services are available in Andhra Pradesh through its partner ITSP, Amber Online Services, through Karuturi Networks for Karnataka and Technet in Tamil Nadu soon.

Vebtel will be providing its services and products in 24 major locations in India. The company has projected a turnover of Rs 35 crore with a net profit of Rs 3.5 crore in the next one year. An additional investment of around Rs 5 crore has been planned in the future, Kusumba added.