Mahanagar Telephone Nigam [Get Quote] Limited broadband users would now be able to make international long distance calls for as low as Re 1 per minute with the launch of a new internet telephony service by the operator in partnership with Aksh Optifibre [Get Quote].

"Aksh would invest Rs 110 crore (Rs 1.1 billion) in VoIP service in the next three years and is targeting a subscriber base of one lakh in the next one year," Aksh Managing Director Kailash Choudhari told PTI.

Through the service, subscribers can make calls to the US, the UK, Singapore, Hong Kong and Russia for as low as Re one per minute even without a personal computer.

These calls can be made through a broadband connection and an Analog Telephone Adapter. Such calls would cost as low as 10 paise per minute if both the parties are using an ATA, Choudhari said. MTNL has a total broadband subscriber base of five lakh in Delhi and Mumbai.

A MTNL broadband connection starts from Rs 199 per month and an ATA would cost a lifetime fee of Rs 1,500-1,600. This service would be beneficial to corporate houses and PCO owners as one broadband connection can support up to 30 ATAs, he said.

Aksh would manage all the back-end work for the VoIP service which would include billing, connectivity to international gateways and installing switches among others.

The company would also talk to Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, which holds a major chunk of broadband users in the country, for launching internet telephony service, Choudhary said. Aksh is also planning to introduce video calling facility by October this year