ISLAMABAD, Aug 22: The Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) will launch the first Voice over Internet Phony (VoIP) service in Islamabad to check the illegal voice traffic by the end of this month.

The introduction of the new service will not only help check illegal voice traffic but also enhance revenue streams of the company, said the PTCL chairman, Akhtar Ahmad Bajwa, while talking to a group of newsmen at his office here on Thursday.

“This is just the beginning and we look forward to start the outbound VoIP traffic after the experience of the incoming traffic”, he said.

The chairman added the PTCL was confident that the technology would provide Internet Protocol and VoIP service of acceptable quality if not as good as the conventional telephony.

He said the VoIP service would also be available for domestic and long distance communication by the next year.

Mr Bajwa said the Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) service had been introduced in Pakistan for the first time in partnership with the private sector.

“The cost of the DSL in Pakistan is high as compared to international tariffs, but as a result of the ensuing competition and economies of scale as the volume grows, the tariff of such services will come down”, he added.

Replying to a question regarding deregulation, the chairman said: “deregulation has taken place in the developed countries and saturated markets. In South Asia, deregulation has also taken place in varying degrees. But every country has its own situation and factors, which decide what kind of approach a country should have to proceed with deregulation. A system has to be evolved that suits our requirements”.

The chairman said the company had been organizing workshops and training sessions for the staff to introduce a service- oriented and customer-focused culture in the company.

“The purpose of this activity is to make them understand the demands of a competitive environment and the importance of the customers”, he added.

The company also plans to launch the VoIP service in Lahore and Karachi.