TEL AVIV, ISRAEL & BANGALORE, INDIA: In a breakthrough that can make international telephone calls as cheaper as a local call tariff and eliminate roaming charges, an Israeli company has developed a unique solution, which integrates GSM technology with the Internet!

The technology allows a GSM SIM card to be integrated with a USB port or a phone. Once the device is connected to a PC, the system converts to a telephone and allows users to make VoIP calls to any mobile or handset anywhere in the world!

Skuku, coming to India!

This unique solution has been developed by Skuku, an international communications company specializing in network based telephony solutions. After two years of development work in Latvia and Israel, Skuku devices will hit the market worldwide in a big way, including India.

Skuku is a USB handset or a USB stick which, once a SIM card has been inserted, allows the user to pay only their local airtime charges when making and receiving calls from their home country. The Skuku phone transforms the user's PC into his or her personal mobile phone, retaining all of the phone's features, and allowing low-cost VoIP and text messaging.

The user keeps his/her personal phone number and enjoys all of the other features of the mobile phone, including contact lists and text messaging.

Free calls!

The Skuku phone also enables receiving and making of international calls from anywhere in the world at low IP tariffs, while inter-network calls are free between Skuku users.

The Skuku phone now allows users to enjoy the added convenience of using an actual phone-like handset to make and receive calls from their PC. Besides sending and receiving SMS messages is also possible using a Skuku device.

"We wanted to make people as comfortable as possible when making calls from their personal computers," said Lior Tzabari, vice president of marketing for Skuku. "The Skuku phone and stick, allows users to totally eradicate roaming costs while at the same time maximizing user comfort."

The Skuku handset device follows the launch of the Skuku stick, Skuku's original solution to eliminating roaming charges. The Skuku stick is a USB device, which, once a SIM-card is inserted into it and is placed in the user's PC, offers the same benefits as Skuku phone.

Skuku in India by Q4

The Indian launch of the Skuku devices is likely to happen in beginning of the fourth quarter. "We are in the process of appointing resellers throughout India and we expect to sell off 100,000 devices within 12 months of the launch date," Tzabari said. He added that the devices will be also launched in several other nations.