SingTel Mobile offers new roaming service

This is possible with the launch of SingTel Mobile's new service called Local Direct Dial (LDD), claimed to be the first in the world.

LDD allows roaming parties on SingTel Mobile to call each other on their cellular phones without having to pay International Direct Dial (IDD) rates.

This is because the outgoing calls "bypass the international gateway", the telco noted in a statement this evening.

According to SingTel spokesperson Chia Boon Chong, the technology behind LDD is "proprietary and is jointly developed with a third party".

He declined to reveal further details about the partner, but noted that the technology "sparked interest from a number of telcos worldwide".

To use the service, customers have to key in the LDD code (#0), followed by the country code and the overseas mobile phone number.

The calling party has to pay S$0.20 for the first minute and S$0.02 for every subsequent six-second block (see table below). Meanwhile, the called party has to pay S$0.40 for the first minute and S$0.04 for every subsequent six-second block.

These rates are in addition to the local airtime (which ranges from S$0.10 per minute for non-peak hours to S$0.20 per minute for peak hours) and are payable to SingTel Mobile.

There is no registration or subscription fee for LDD, and the service is available to all SingTel Mobile GSM900 and GSM1800 prepaid and postpaid customers.

To date, the mobile operator has roaming agreements with over 350 mobile networks to 136 destinations worldwide, Chia claimed.

Its competitor, MobileOne Asia Pte Ltd, could not reveal whether there are plans to launch a similar service. Meanwhile, StarHub Pte Ltd declined to comment.