After having launched calling card services in the USA, leading operator Airtel announced launching similar services in the UK with an aim to target the 1.6 million Indian community in the country.

The new service offers calls to India at a rate of 3.5 pence per minute through toll access and 4.5 minutes through toll free access. The launch offer provides subscribers to avail of 25 minutes free talk time.

The subscriber will also be awarded with 50 percent free talk time over and above the purchase due to which the company claims the effective rate will be 2.3 pence per minute for the subscriber. Moreover if a user refers the service to someone under the refer-a-friend programme, the user will be entitled to receive 100 minutes of free talk time.

David Nishball, President, Enterprise Services, Bharti Airtel Ltd, said, "Our aim is to serve this Indian community better by changing the rules of the game and delivering a greater value for money service with superior call quality and world class service standards," Nishball added.