A new mobile phone company whose backers include a senior BT executive is to go head to head with the major wireless operators for the £210 million corporate “roaming” market.

CallBlue, whose board includes Ray Leclercq, chief financial officer of BT’s Openreach division, and Stephen Crawford, a former executive from Virgin Mobile, is promising to shave at least one third off companies’ foreign mobile call bills when it launches next month.

The product, which works through the insertion of a special SIM card into a mobile phone, will include a host of extra features, including a “social networking-style service” in which users can share recommendations about everything from the best law firms to the most fun bars in various countries.

Other services will include an ability to receive an immediate text message detailing the length and cost of a call and an online billing facility allowing users to keep track of how much they have spent on calls while they are travelling. Customers will also be able to record the calls they make.

Les Green, the chairman of CallBlue, said that the company had the edge over established players because of its sole focus on roaming.

The inspiration for the service, which will initially be targeted at mid-cap FTSE 250 businesses, came from the board’s own mobile phone experiences abroad, he said.

“We have all travelled extensively on business and found out what the traditional services are lacking. We believe we have brought a product to market that addresses the problems there now.”

The cost of making mobile calls from overseas has taken centre stage recently following a clampdown on charges by Brussels. A campaign to end “rip-off” prices has culminated in the planned introduction of price caps on mobile operators.

CallBlue, which promises to undercut these caps for business customers, will be available in 110 countries including Dubai, Australia and South Africa.

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