Do you feel like calling up your family and friends in the US often? But do the high rates keep you from doing so? Well, help is at hand. Your loved ones in the US are now closer to you than ever before.

World Phone Internet Services Pvt Ltd, a leading ISP, has launched international pre-paid Internet calling card in India, using which you can call the United States for as low as Rs 1.60 per minute.

But how does the card work? How do you use it? Where do you buy it? And how much does it cost?

Let us also check out all this, including the features of this card.

The features:

Lowest call rate, especially to the United States, at Rs 1.60 per minute and the United Kingdom at Rs 2 per minute.

It is the lowest rate to the US in the Internet telephony market. Other Internet telephony operators like Net4India and Sify charge Rs 4 per minute to the US.

The basic and cellular service operators are charging around Rs 12 to Rs 16 per minute for an overseas call.

Using the VoIP-based (Voice over Internet Protocol) card -- World Phone Premium -- a user can make international calls to more than 200 countries, including the US, the UK, France, Australia, Canada and Singapore.

The company has launched the card in technological tie-up with the US-based VoIP service provider, Go2Call.

Rates for other countries

The World Phone calling rates to other countries are:

• Rs 1.70 per minute to Canada
• Rs 2 per minute to Germany
• Rs 2.20 per minute to France
• Rs 2.50 per minute to Australia and Singapore
• Rs 2.75 per minute to New Zealand and Italy.
• In Asia, the premium card will enable a user to make an Internet telephony call to China and Japan at Rs 3.50 per minute.
• A call to Saudi Arabia will cost Rs 8 a minute.

How to use the card

• a) To use the card one needs a personal computer, a pair of headphones and an Internet connection.
• b) Log on to the Web site www.worldphone.co.in
• c) Download the dialer and install it on the PC.
• d) Enter the PIN & Password (which will be given at the back of the card).
• e) Dial the number with country code + area code + telephone number.
• f) Speak.

Does the customer need to install any other software?

No.

Now, where are the cards available?

Currently, the cards are available in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Shimla, Hyderabad, Chennai, Gujarat and Bangalore. World Phone sells these cards through its distributors in these cities.

What about other places?

World Phone is in the process of finalising distributors and retailers all over India, says Rajiv Kumar, DGM (Sales), World Phone Internet Services, speaking to rediff.com.

Are the cards available outside India?

No. The cards are available only in India.

How much does the card cost?

The card is available in four denominations: Rs 100, Rs 250, Rs 500 and Rs 1,000. The amount is inclusive of service tax.

How is the World Phone service different from others?

The main difference is the lowest calling rate. The other differences are the service quality and the availability of the cards, Rajiv says.

What is World Phone Internet Services?

The New Delhi-based World Phone Internet Services, a category 'A' Internet Service Provider, is the first to get the ITSP license from the Department of Telecommunications. It offers enterprise solutions, broadband connectivity, corporate VoIP solutions and Internet calling cards.

India's voice telephony market is estimated to be worth around Rs 33,000 crore (Rs 330 billion), of which Internet telephony has a share of just 2.5 per cent.

A recent study by IDC observed that the IP telephony market is expected to register a compounded annual growth rate of 119 per cent. Although Internet telephony is still in a nascent stage in India, the World Phone initiative could give the sector a giant push.