By PTI

New Delhi: After the successful entry into UK and Singapore, telecom major Bharti Airtel today launched its virtual calling card services in Canada, offering a tariff of Rs2.80 for a one minute call to India.

“Subscribers in Canada will now be able to call India at 5.9 cents (or Rs2.80) per minute on a toll-free access number. Using the service, the subscribers can also call other countries, as per the list available on Airtel CallHome website,” Bharti Airtel Head of International Calling Cards Arun Bharadwaj said.

The company is targeting an NRI and student’s population of 1.5 million.

Speaking about the launch, Bharti Airtel President, Enterprise Services, David Nishball said, “We are excited to launch the Airtel CallHome service in Canada after our earlier successful foray into other international markets. With the large NRI population, Canada is a strategic market for us and we see great potential here.”

According to industry estimates, the total outgoing traffic to India from Canada is around 180 million minutes per month of which 60 million minutes is through calling cards.

The company hopes to increase the share of virtual calling cards here and make Airtel the preferred choice for the Indian community to connect with friends and family back in India, he added.

Canada is the fourth country where the Airtel CallHome service is being launched. It was launched in the US in end-2006 and in UK and Singapore in August and September 2008 respectively.

Bharti also offers various value added services, including two touch speed dial and renewal facility online among others.