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T Bakrie Telecom (Btel), a relatively newcomer in the telecommunications industry, is challenging giant rivals for a chunk of the international direct dialing business.

The company, controlled by the politically wired Bakrie family, launched Wednesday its international call business, marking the end of the duopoly in the service currently enjoyed by state-run PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom) and PT Indosat, controlled by Qatar Telecom (Qtel).

Btel secured a license for the service from the government early this year in a decision that many said would put an end to the expensive rates from Telkom and Indosat, which have jointly controlled the service since 2004. Indosat was the only provider prior to 2004.

During the launching, Btel president director Anindya Bakrie said the company offered as much as 77 percent cheaper calling rates than rivals Telkom and Indosat.

Btel, which has an international outgoing direct call number of 009, said the country's international call business had a revenue of around Rp 3 trillion (US$280 million) annually, or only 3 percent of the total telecommunications industry's revenue of more than Rp 100 trillion.

"We are aiming for 30 percent of the Rp 3 trillion cake," said Anindya, the eldest son of chief welfare minister Aburizal Bakrie.

He added the service might grow by 8-10 percent this year.

With the mushrooming of cellular services since 2001, the international call business has been considered a petty business for Telkom and Indosat, which have seemingly underestimated the presence of their smaller rival.

The two firms said they were not worried about Btel.

"We have a strong subscriber numbers, technologies and networks. That's why we're not too worried," said Telkom president director Rinaldi Firmansyah.

Telkom offers international call services under the outgoing dialled number of 007 for premium products and 01017 for calls using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

Telkom, the country's largest telecommunications operator, also brushed aside plans to cut its international call business rate, saying it was still competitive.

Indosat president director Johny Swandi Sjam told The Jakarta Post the service was no longer complicated because of the proliferating VoIP facilities, which enabled people to make long distance calls through the Internet at much lower prices.

Johny said he believed Indosat had better technology and more complete services when it came to the international call business, considering the company was the first provider of such services.

"We provide a wide range of services, from premium to cheap products for international calls," he said.

Indosat, the nation's second largest telecommunications company, offers three international call services - the premium Indosat SLI 001, the medium Indosat SLI 008, and the cheapest, Indosat SLI 01016, which uses VoIP.

Johny said the company would focus on developing the three services instead of