Soon, phone landline from WhatsApp

NEW DELHI: You may soon be able to dial landline or mobile phone numbers from popular internet apps such as Skype, WhatsApp or Viber, following clearance for inter-connect agreements between internet service providers and telecom operators by an inter-ministerial panel of the government on Monday. The move may result in substantially lower charges for voice calls (which would be billed as per data usage), though poor quality of internet networks - a general irritant with broadband services in many parts of the country - could be a dampener. A part from being a consumer-friendly move, the decision to allow inter-connect agreements between ISPs and telecom operators will be a shot in the arm or Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio Infocomm, which will soon begin services across the country . Reliance Jio plans to offer voice over its 4G network. Following the panel's clearance, its subscribers will be able to terminate calls on the landline or mobile networks of any service provider ranging from MTNL or BSNL's fixed lines o the mobile numbers on Air el, Vodafone or Idea Cellular. "The move has been cleared by the inter-ministerial elecom commission and groundwork to get it going will start soon," an official source said. Sector regulator Trai had already recommended the measure to allow inter-connect for voice over internet protocol (or VoIP) services, and this had been pending with the telecom ministry .Changes will be made to licence conditions to allow inter-connection of IP (internet protocol) networks.   TOI