"3" launches VoIP call service

GSM-based cell phone provider PT Hutchison CP Telecommunications Indonesia (HCPT), operating under the trade name "3" has launched VoIP services for customers, joining a handful of companies in Indonesia providing access to this new technology.

VoIP can send voice communication over the Internet by changing voice into digital data packets, which are transmitted over Internet lines in the same way as emails or computer files.

Suresh Reddy, HCPT's chief commercial officer, said Thursday during the launch that the company wanted to offer the cheapest tariff for long distance calls by cell phone.

"We offer these very low prices for our customers so they can for instance connect overseas with their cellular phones without having to think twice whether the phone number they called is in another country or not," Suresh said.

He said calling long distance using this service would cost less than the average cost of sending an SMS locally. "Calling to Singapore at Rp 110 a minute could be less than the cost of sending an SMS to your friend in Indonesia."

VoIP technology reduces the cost of calling because it does not rely on conventional international phone connections.

The company offer the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service for calls to an initial 20 countries including Singapore, Malaysia, Germany, the United States, Great Britain and Australia.

He said HCPT had invested US$1 billion since March 2007 and that the VoIP service was included in this budget.

HCPT has built more than 4,000 base transceiver stations (bts) or telecommunication towers and by the end of this year aimed to have 6,000 bts towers across the islands of Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan and Sulawesi.

In Indonesia, "3" has been operating since March 2007 and now has 3.2 million subscribers.