New Year Brings Expanded Digital Voice Services Featuring Global Portability, Free Unlimited Local Calls, One Number For Life And Great Value
Singapore, 4 January 2006 – StarHub, Singapore’s integrated info-communications provider, today announced the launch of its range of Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)-based Voice-over-IP (VoIP) services using Internet/Integrated Access Device (IAD) adapters, for consumers and businesses across the island, to offer more choice and value to its customers.
The new range of end-to-end SIP-based VoIP services, dubbed ‘Digital Voice Travel’ for consumers and ‘Digital Voice Business’ for local business customers, are targeted at those who wish to dramatically reduce the costs of their overseas calls. These include, for example, frequent travellers and students abroad, who make frequent calls home from overseas or local businesses with high usage of international calls. These new services offer portability and mobility to the user, as he is able to stay in touch with his contacts anytime, anywhere through a broadband Internet connection and an IAD adapter.
“StarHub has always regarded VoIP as a potentially fast-growing service. We had initially launched Digital Voice in December 2002 as a switched-VoIP service with voice carried in broadband/IP traffic within our hybrid-fibre-coaxial network. With today’s launch, we are now able to provide end-to-end SIP-based VoIP service that offers greater flexibility in its geographical portability and will represent an alternative for some to roaming with a mobile phone,” said Mr Thomas Ee, Senior Vice President, IP Services, StarHub.
As a result of today’s announcement, StarHub’s current residential fixed voice service will be re-branded ‘Digital Voice Home’. Digital Voice Home is only offered over StarHub’s cable broadband network, whereas StarHub’s new SIP-based services work on all broadband networks locally and abroad.
The Digital Voice packages available are as follows:
Product | Package | Price per month (before GST) |
Digital Voice Travel (new) (SIP-based service)
| Basic Subscription Value Pack
| S$9.80 S$4.50 |
Value PackPlus
| S$6.50 | |
Digital Voice Business (new) (SIP-based service)
| Ultimate
| S$19.80
|
Digital Voice Home (current)
| Basic Subscription Value Bundle Value Added Services | S$9.80 S$4.50 S$2 each (except Number Retention)
|
To use Digital Voice Travel or Digital Voice Business, users must have a broadband connection (either cable or ADSL). Calls are made using a normal analogue phone connected to the IAD adapter. The required IAD adapter, available separately from StarHub, retails at S$159 (without GST). Each IAD adapter is able to accommodate up to two lines.
From now till 31 December 2007, all Digital Voice customers will be able to make free unlimited Singapore-registered calls. In addition, Digital Voice Travel and Digital Voice Business customers will be able to make free unlimited SIP-to-SIP calls (e.g. Digital Voice Travel to Digital Voice Travel, or Digital Voice Business to Digital Voice Business) regardless of which country the IAD adapter is being used in. This is however restricted to StarHub IAD adapters only and is subject to conditions imposed by overseas broadband service providers. Calls made through Digital Voice (any service) to non-Singapore-registered numbers will be charged based on prevailing StarHub IDD rates.
In addition, Digital Voice Business is part of a series of IP-centric services provided by StarHub that will allow businesses to converge their fixed voice and data services, allowing them significant cost savings and lower overheads as they expand and refine their business operations.
Said Mr Ee, “We see great opportunities to expand our portfolio of services into a rapidly popular VoIP industry. While traditional telcos may fear that VoIP would impact their own global roaming business, we whole-heartedly embrace this technology that is rapidly gaining popularity. We believe it may accelerate the adoption of broadband in the home and the office, which is where our focus has been. At the end of the day, we are talking about voice communications and customers aren’t really concerned whether it is through VoIP or traditional means. They care about reliability, quality and value, and that is something we believe we have on offer with these new services.”
For more information on Digital Voice Home and Digital Voice Travel, visit www.starhub.com/voice. For information on Digital Voice Business, visit www.starhub.com/business. Companies interested in Digital Voice Business can also contact StarHub’s business hotline at 1800 888-8888.
