The Hindu Business Line : BT a step closer to telephony foray

After the initial hiccup, BT got a major boost for its long distance telephony plans in India with the Government issuing the letter of intent for awarding licences for both national and international long distance services.

These licences, once granted, will enable BT's joint venture company, BT Telecom India Pvt Ltd, to provide services directly to corporate customers in the Indian market.

Positive step forward

Mr Andy Green, CEO, BT Global Services, said, "This is an extremely positive step forward. These licences will enable us to roll out our full product range in India, and for the first time, to provide service directly to our customers, increasing responsiveness and service levels still further." BT is the second major long distance operator after AT&T to take a fresh licence in India.

Once the licences are fully operationalised, BT will be able to offer both domestic and international managed services to corporate customers who have sites in India. BT will also be able to provide these companies with virtual private network-based (VPN) services using technologies such as ATM and Internet protocol-based multi-protocol label switching (MPLS). The company has no plans to foray into the retail long distance telephony market dominated by the likes of VSNL and BSNL.

BT's application had earlier hit a bump when the Department of Telecom said that the company had not given all the details required as part of the process. DoT had asked BT to give additional information on its application.

BT has been present in India since 1987. Currently, BT provides managed services through its licensed partner in India.

In November 2006, BT announced lodging of its applications for national long distance and international long distance licences with DoT through BT Telecom India, a joint venture with Jubilant Enpro Pvt Ltd, a New Delhi-based company engaged in oil and gas, food and services.

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