Sify announces lower rates for Net telephony

Access Media, a subsidiary of Sify Ltd, has launched a scheme for making international calls at cheaper rates using its 'way-to-talk' facility in Gujarat.

The way-to-talk facility is available at the Sify iway chain of cyber cafes.

Under the scheme, all international calls made to landlines in the US, the UK and Canada would cost Rs 4.65 per minute, excluding service tax.

This is 40 to 60 per cent cheaper than what a customer would have to currently pay for the calls, the company said.

The retail internet access segment accounts for around 39 per cent of the Sify's revenue "" 16 per cent from internet access at home through dial-up and broad band, 18 per cent from internet access at Sify iways and five per cent from other value-added services, the company said.

"Only Sify's way-to-talk has the MPLS technology by which excellent voice clarity is ensured. Apart from the US, the UK and Canada, calls can also be made to around 150 more countries at rates which are almost one-third of the prevailing market rates," said David Appasamy, chief communications officer, Sify.

"In Gujarat, Sify iways are located in Vadodara, Ahmedabad, Surat and many other cities," he said.

Sify's iway cyber cafe network has increased to around 1,500 with the service being extended to 52 cities.

There are more than 10,000 PCs in use in all these cyber cafes across the country.

In addition to the Net telephony services, video conferencing at very affordable rates are available at over 100 iways across 40 cities, the company said.

The subscribers to Sify's broadband internet access to homes increased to more than 16,000 with the services extended to cover 12 cities, the company said.

The usage revenue from this segment has increased by over 50 per cent as compared to the previous quarter, the company said.

The dial-up business launched a special value-added product line, 'Sify Gold', which enables the consumers to get faster downloads, with telephone charge savings to the consumers as much as 50 per cent, the company said.

Sify offers end-to-end solutions with a range of products delivered over a common internet backbone infrastructure.

This Internet backbone reaches 55 points of presence in India, representing an estimated 90 per cent of the established PC base in the country, the company said.

A significant part of the company's revenue is derived from corporate services, which include corporate connectivity, network and communications solutions, security, network management services and hosting. The company's network services, data center operations and customer relationship management are accredited ISO 9001:2000, Sify said.