Kapil Sibal launches MTNL's video telephony service

Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal Thursday asked DoT Secretary R Chandrashekhar to examine the possibility of extending MTNL's new video telephony service to mobile phones even as he said Internet telephony will not happen immediately.

"I requested Secretary (R Chandrashekhar) just now, connect it (MTNL video telephony service) to mobile phones," Sibal said while launching MTNL's video telephony service which is based on broadband technology.

The state-run telecom company launched the service to make calls through MTNL land line or fiber network. MTNL Chairman and Managing Director AK Garg said "people will not require personal computers (PC) to make these video calls".

Present rules in India allow people to make voice and video calls from a computers to another computer only. Making calls from computers to mobile phones is not allowed.

At present, there are VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) applications like Skype, Gtalk, Yahoo from which Internet users can make video calls from their personal computers to another PC.

Speaking to reporters after the event Sibal, however, said opening of Internet telephony "is part of a policy, it is not going to happen immediately, it will take some time".

Telecom Minister further suggested MTNL and BSNL to make provisions for connecting video telephony devices to television sets so that people can see larger image of persons they are talking to.

The state-run telecom firm has plans to include video surveillance facility in its new services with back-up service.