World Phone Internet Services Pvt Ltd launched its World Phone Premium international calling card in Mumbai on Tuesday that will allow Mumbaites to talk in the US for Rs 1.60 per minute.

The cards are available in denominations of Rs 100, Rs 250, Rs 500 and Rs 1000 and. It will be available at 600 retail outlets in the city. The calls to countries in the Western

Europe or the Far East are priced in the range of Rs 2 and Rs 8. The card was also launched in Goa on Tuesday.

How to call US at Rs 1.60 per minute

Aditya Ahluwalia, chairman WPISPL said, " With an encouraging response in the cities of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal, we are confident that residents of Maharashtra and Goa would also appreciate the benefits of a low priced calling card to the US."

The company's offer is one third of what operators like Sify, Bharat Sanchar Nigam or Mahanagar Telephone Nigam offer for calls made to the US.

According to Ahluwalia, "This is possible because we follow a cost plus basis unlike competitors who adopt the market based pricing."

Ahluwalia assured that low price did not mean a compromise on voice quality. The company claims to have a robust back-end support from its US partner GO2call that provides voice over service to over 200 countries in the world.

The company is also launching the card in the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The marketing strategy includes a distribution network with over 2000 channel partners and resellers within the next six months.

The cards would be sold at strategic places like the malls and outlets such as Archies Gallery. They would be available online too on websites such as Rediff.

The user has to download the dialer from World Phones's website -- www.worldphone.co.in and then by using the card can place an international call, anywhere from India, from his personal computer.

Alternately, one can also install a branded Internet Protocol phone or an Analog Telephone Adapter and place an international call using his account ID number.