Net4.in Voip Home Calling Plans : India

Lately there have been a lot of advertisements about voip in India and unlimited voip calls from India. net4.in is one such voip provider creating this buzz. I thought to check net4.in and its individual plans that is home voip plans, if its any good for people.

net4.in offers a wide range of voip plans for home users. These are Phonewala Home/ SOHO Plans that enable you to use internet connection to make and receive phone calls at very low rates, basically voip calls. So firstly you require Internet (broadband connection) at your home in order to make these calls. I am not sure, but these internet charges are not included in their calling plan rates.

Lets check out the various plans net4.in offers:

1. Homeland Plan : Rs 599/month
500 minutes* of calls to US/UK/Canada
Outgoing calls to landline and mobile destinations (except UK mobile).

I think this plan is not so good as you can make calls to USA/UK for free using Voip or most other voip provider are offering calls to USA/UK at 1 cent per minute (40-50 paisa per min).

2. One World: Available in Rs 100/250/500/1000 denominations
Call anywhere* in the world @ Re 1 per minute only.
Terms & Conditions
* Re 1 per minute applicable to more than 40 countries.
* Re 1 per minute applicable to landline destinations only.
* Calls to rest of the destinations available at Rs 10 per minute.
* For US, Canada, China, Hongkong , Thailand, and Singapore, calls to mobile destinations at Re 1 per minute.
* Validity of 30 days on Rs 100, Rs 250, and Rs 500 packs.
* Validity of 90 days on Rs 1000 pack.

Again as I said before the plan looks costly to me.

3. Gulf Gold:
Call more than 45 Gulf & European countries @ Rs 8 per minute.*
Terms & Conditions
* Rs 8 per minute applicable on calls all destinations.
* Validity of 30 days on Rs 500 pack.
* Validity of 90 days on Rs 1000 pack.

4. Unlimited Silver: US/ Canada
Unlimited* calls to US/Canada @ Rs 2499 per month only.
Terms & Conditions
* One month validity and maximum 3000 minutes per month.

Again a very costly plan.

5. Unlimited Silver: US/ Canada/ UK Unlimited* calls to US/Canada @ Rs 2999 per month only.
Terms & Conditions
* One month validity and maximum 3000 minutes per month.

Well, net4.in home plans are not at all cheap if you compare them to other voip providers. But if you compare net4.in international calling rates to your normal telecom provider then its way cheaper for many countries. So, if you are thinking of shifting to voip from your normal telecom provider then net4.in is a good option. We will soon also review their business plans.

READ MORE - Net4.in Voip Home Calling Plans : India

Future of Voip in India

Few days back I posted about the proposal by India's Intelligence Bureau (IB) to the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology to block all Internet telephony services in and out of India till DoT can devise a method to track such calls.

Some people totally ignored this news saying that the news has no proofs and it wont happen. Guys, we all want that this ban does not happen but thing is the news has its roots and should not be ignored.

If anyone Googles about this proposed ban, you will find many newspapers, blogs and websites talking about the same. (Try going to Google news). To give you some examples, Techtree wrote "As per TRAI, there are around 34 companies providing VoIP services in the country. If the block is implemented, it is likely to disrupt the habits and businesses of many."

Similarly the news posted on timesofindia.indiatimes.com, another enewspaper khabrein.info, mid-day, on websites viz ciol.com and many more.

So just hoping that this ban does not materialize and we be able to make cheap calls to and from India.

READ MORE - Future of Voip in India

Voip may be Blocked in India

This is big. Its definitely not good for India nor for telecom industry, but this may get true. Voip calls may be soon blocked in India. No more Internet phone calls to and from India. The question is WHY ?

India’s lack of effective technology to track Caller Line Identification may cost you the comfort of cheap net telephony in India. India's security agencies have recommended a ban on international Internet telephony.

If this gets true, it will mean no more cheap calls, no more talking for long to loved ones living in India. The call rates will rise above 9-10 cents/min that too very few providers offering. No more Nymgo, Mediaringtalk or your SIP calls to call India.

Wonder what will happen to those using VOIP in India to make international calls. Those business which rely on voip. They will then have to switch to Airtel, Vodafone or Reliance for international phone calls. That means money running out. The question again WHY ??

Just because India dont have technology to trap these phone calls. We all understand that India's security is of prime importance but that does not mean to switch off from latest technology, cheap calls, revenue. The solution would be to create some technology to ensure security even when using Voip calls. I just hope "Voip to be free", no blocking of calls..Free and cheap calls to India.

Whats your take on this. Do Share your views.

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Another Setback to Indian Voip : DOT blocks 39 Voip Providers

Voip in India is not even properly launched, and DOT(Department of Telecom) has ordered ISP (internet servie providers) in India to block about 39 Internatonal Voip provider websites.

According to DOT, these 39 voip providers are breaking the rules set in regard to voip in India. These voip providers are therefore charged for illegal voip activities. Indian laws permit only licensed operators to offer Net telephony services.

These unlicensed voip provider offer cheap price to Indian customers and naturally more and more people were associating with them. This in turn led to loss to Indian government who themselves are in process of launching their voip service. Such voip services also pose a security threat.

As we all know, voip calls can be made via PC to PC calls, Pc to Mobile calls and Mobile to Mobile calls using Voip. However all these three modes of Voip calls are not allowed in India. Voip providers (India) are provided license for placing a Pc to Pc call and Pc to Mobile/Landline (only international) calls.

Foreign net service providers, which have been blacklisted includes voiptalk.org, sipgate.co.uk, voiplus.net, and deltathree.com

Should we consider it as another setback to Indian Voip ? Will it make any harm in the launch of voip in India ? Will it affect the Intenational calling rates to and from India (which decreased to due to Voip). Well these are some of the unanswered question, which only time will tell us.

READ MORE - Another Setback to Indian Voip : DOT blocks 39 Voip Providers