Nettlinx has announced partnership with Smart IMS, a US corporation, to offer Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)-based services.

Nettlinx plans to invest about $3 million in this project and is also in the process of evaluating options for further diversification into other related areas.

Together, the two companies formally launched VoIP services under the brand name Matallo (which in Telugu means "in your words"), that enables its users the option of cheaper overseas calls, and other value-added services such a video-conferencing.

Addressing a press conference, the Executive Director of Nettlinx, Mr Vijay Bhasker Reddy, said that calls made to global destinations would be cheaper by about 90 per cent compared to regular telephone calls.

In fact, this can make even local calls and to other destinations in the country cheaper. But VoIP services are not permitted within the country.

The Nettlinx official said with the help of Matallo VoIP phones, one can interact with people across the world using the public Internet backbone. Typically, a user of this facility would require a VoIP phone and a broadband connectivity. While a basic phone costs about Rs 3,000, a phone with advanced features including video conferencing features is priced at Rs 15,000.