Chinese consumers in Shandong will, starting in April, be able to make calls over VoIP via wifi, using a dual-mode device from Jinan Yinquan Technology.

The firm, a wholly owned subsidiary of China VoIP and Digital Telecom (CVDT), will be offering its existing mobile subscribers the new handsets which holds two SIM cards. “One is for the VoIP number, the other is for the common GSM/CDMA cell phone network,” explains Li Kunwu, president and CEO of CVDT.

The company estimates regular users could save up to 80 per cent on their long distance call fees.

Jinan Yinquan uses a proprietary “soft switch” IP telephone system and plans to introduce the new service first to select enterprises and government organisations. The company said that as wifi spreads across China it will roll out the service nationwide.