The BSNL on Tuesday launched its video telephony service in Pune, after its successful launch in Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat in collaboration with Sai Infosystems India ltd (SIS). With this, people will be able to view each other while calling on landline phone. The launch is a value addition to the BSNL landline service and is aimed particularly at the enterprise segment and international callers even as the telecom company said that it was also targeting the other customer segments.
As a special case, the service will be offered on deposit basis with customers having to pay between Rs 3,000 to 5,000 as cost of the equipment besides routine installation and service charges. The special plan is available for the first 500 non-government customers and will also be available to the government customers on a rental basis, said Rajeev Gupta, senior vice president, SIS.
Naveen Bhasin, chief executive officer (CEO) of SIS, said that the service has been launched for the first time in Maharashtra after its successful launch in the states of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. He said that the equipment are coming from the company’s manufacturing facility at Himachal Pardesh (HP) adding that out of 30,000 equipment that were manufactured some 700-800 have already been sold.
Bhasin said the company will set up video calling PCOs in different parts of country to make the service more popular. He said that the video telephony will help parents see their children on telephone and will also come as a handy tool for such facilities like telemedicine.
BSNL Principal General Manager, Pune, V K Mahendra, said that the BSNL rules the landline telephone service in the country and the new service has features which are not available in the market. “BSNL also has a major market share of broadband users. Nearly 70 per cent of broadband users use BSNL. The user friendly audio and video conferencing service has high definition voice quality.”
Ashish Pathak, Additional General Manager BSNL, said that the launch of new service will help in bridging the “digital divide.” Giving details about the tariff plan, BSNL said that the service comes after the payment of one time registration charge of Rs 250, monthly service charges of Rs 100 and other miscellaneous charges of Rs 50 per month and per minute usage charge of Rs 1 for voice domestic calls and Rs 2.5 for video calls.
MEDIA NEWS SNATTA/WB.