PRESS: Russia’s Rostelecom to launch pay Skype-alike service

MOSCOW, Mar 4 (PRIME) -- Russian state-controlled telecom giant Rostelecom has announced a tender to design a Web portal and a mobile application of a Skype-alike service, called Hello, business daily Vedomosti reported Friday, referring to information on the Web site for state purchases.

Design layouts should “meet requirements” of smartphones and tablets running on the iOS system, the iOS8 version and later, and the Android system, the Android 4 version and later.

Programmers are supposed to design screens for video and audio calls between users, incoming and outcoming voice calls, instant messages and contacts management, among others. Designers will also create an application screen for authorization by phone number.

Rostelecom’s spokesman Andrei Polyakov said that the service will work not only on the company’s network, but also on networks of other operators, including mobile ones.

Users will pay for the service, and Rostelecom will not compete on the market of free messengers and VoIP applications, he said.

Subscribers will be able to tie their landline number to the service, or receive another one. The project will be launched in June in 16 big cities, and the geography will expand in the future, Polyakov said.

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