Bahrain's Lightspeed Communications announced today the launch of its latest service: the ‘Surf & Talk’ package.

This new package, it said, is an unprecedented innovation in the Gulf region.

Surf & Talk, powered by Livebox, manages to bring both voice services and internet broadband services under one bill. Using the Livebox, it provides ease of use and immediate savings to residential and business customers on local and international calls.

Upon joining, all Surf & Talk customers would be allocated a new number, starting with 166xx xxxx, without the need to replace their original fixed-line number, as both numbers can co-exist. Using this new number, customers can make calls from 166xxxxx to 166xxxxx free of charge. Further to this, each month, residential customers receive 10 free hours to call to other local fixed-line (17xx xxxx numbers) and business customers receive 100 free hours. Such an offering will translate to immediate savings to the customer from the first month of use.

Further to the usage of landline voice services, Livebox extends the benefit in providing unlimited internet services, ranging from 512Kbps to 2Mbps for both residential and business customers.

The Suf & Talk Home 512 Kbps connection will cost BD29.900 per month and the 1Mbps Office conncetion will cost BD159 per month

 Lightspeed Communications launched pure Internet ADSL services in Bahrain last month and has experienced unprecedented growth in the new service.

The Livebox is not only attractive; it also offers state-of-the-art technology and superior reliability. It enables the user to connect several computers to the Internet: PCs can be connected by cable and multiple PCs or notebooks can be connected wirelessly to the Livebox. The Livebox allows you to surf anywhere in your house or garden, whenever you like and always with the utmost convenience. Furthermore, Surf and Talk customers whose notebooks and PCs do not have built-in Wi-Fi functionality will receive a Wi-Fi adapter at no extra cost.

Surf & Talk with Livebox is best positioned for families, private networks and even small companies.

'We believe that by utilizing both high-speed Internet services coupled with unlimited calls within the 166 range and free monthly hours to fixed-line numbers, this will greatly benefit the end user and will surely lower their monthly bills. Thanks to the power and knowledge of France Telecom Group, which has launched the Livebox back in 2004 and now has more than 5 million Livebox customers in Europe, such a service is now extended to the Gulf region and for the first time in the Kingdom of Bahrai,' said Sheikh Abdulla Bin Khaled Al Khalifa, Lightspeed's chief executive officer.

The Livebox acts as central hub for the delivery of a large portfolio of high-speed services such as high-speed wireless Internet, voice, digital TV over ADSL, network gaming and more innovative services. Lightspeed’s latest addition of voice services is just the start of long-term strategic expansion adding more services to home and business users over the coming period ahead. - TradeArabia News Service