The Hindu Business Line : TRAI views sought on Net policy

Concerned over huge revenue loss due to grey market operations and slow growth of broadband services, the Department of Telecom has decided to review its policy on Internet services and has asked Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) for its recommendations.

According to industry estimates, more than 70 per cent of the Internet telephony takes place through grey market operations. The Internet Service Providers Association of India (ISPAI) said that nearly Rs 7 crore worth calls are being routed into the country illegally every month.

The amount is much higher on the incoming ILD calls with companies such as Skype, MSN and Messenger offering IP-based telephone service without paying any licence fee to the Government.

Reasons cited

"The loss of government revenue, unlicensed operation by certain firms and depleting market share of licensed operators are some of the reasons that necessitated a review of policy of Internet services and ISP licensing conditions," TRAI said in a consultation paper that sought views from stakeholders.

The Government is contemplating to review the policy of Internet services to address large number of ISP licences, grey market operations, level playing field vis-à-vis other licensed telecom service providers, for an effective, regulated and forward looking ISP licensing regimen.

Internet telephony

Though large number of ISPs (389) has been licensed to operate Internet service today, top 20 ISPs provide Internet services to 98 per cent subscribers. Internet telephony has been permitted to 128 ISPs; however, only 32 are presently providing Internet telephony.

Future services issues

TRAI is also seeking to address issues related to future services such as IP-TV and IP-Telephony. Meanwhile, the fate of the 50 companies, which had applied for fresh ISP licence, is not yet clear. While the DoT had said that applications will be cleared by December-end, the latest move to seek TRAI views may delay the process further.