And, if you go by the assurances of one of these providers to this correspondent, ``Sure it's legal ... in any case, VSNL can't really detect your calls.'' In other words, what he's saying is that it's illegal, but the chances of getting caught are negligible. What you need: a PC with a Pentium MMX 166MHz chip, 32 MB RAM, a full duplex sound card, a microphone, a speaker and, of course, an Internet connection. The microphone and the speaker cost around Rs 500. A basic Internet connection for 100 hours costs Rs 3,500.

A word of caution: while the telephone can be operated on even a lower-end PC – say a Pentium 75 –this causes a delay in voice signals. So, if you're talking to your cousin in the US, it'll take three to four seconds for the voice to travel back and forth. And yes, your cousin doesn't need a computer or Internet – he's just got to have the basic telephone.

Basically, what these operators are offering is a service which uses VSNL's existing Internet facilities to enable customers to make international telephone calls at just a fraction of the current VSNL rates, or even the ones that VSNL will offer eventually when it sets up its Internet phone services.

For a fee of Rs 500 for a microphone and speaker, these service providers will install the software on your PC– the software itself is free – and you're ready to go. You then buy a debit card for Rs 1,500 which entitles you to 250 minutes of telephone time to the US -- there's an inaugural discount of 25 per cent. Since the calls are routed through the US, it costs more as you move away to, say the UK, or Central Asia.

As far as the user isconcerned, all that he has to do is to dial a special code, followed by the destination number. The voice signals aren't as good as the ordinary phone, but then the cost is less than a fraction.

How do you get to contact this service provider? Well, apart from a few discrete advertisements, your best bet is to look at your e-mail carefully.

If you already have a VSNL Internet connection, chances are that someone's already sent you some mail on this, giving full details of how to activate your connection.

Sending voice signals over the Internet is comparatively cheap, and that's how these operators are able to offer such low rates. The problem, however, is that VSNL doesn't allow sending of voice signals across its Internet access service. For one, if allowed, this will lower international tariffs dramatically and will deal a body blow to its revenues. This apart, voice signals occupy a lot more bandwidth and hence hit the quality of transmission of other data on the Internet.

That's why the Terms andConditions of a VSNL Internet connection state very clearly (Rule 7) that this cannot be used for inter-active voice or fax messaging. Which is why VSNL, for example, does not plan to use its existing Internet connection to provide its Internet phone services. So, while you're making international calls using the system offered by some enterprising private parties, just ensure you don't get caught. Other than that, it's a great deal.

The deal

(Based on inaugural discount offered by one provider)

Destination: Internet-based tariff in Rs per minute. VSNL rates are in parentheses.

USA: 4.5 (90.0)

UK: 8.5 (75.0)

Central Asia: 70.0(75.0)

The cheapest VSNL Internet connection costs Rs 3,500 for 100 hours. So, add 58 paise per minute to the rates given above to get the effective cost)