The Hindu Business Line: Though the Indian government and the regulatory bodies have given rosy growth projections for broadband, the reality is it will remain slower-than-expected on account of two factors: limited competition among players on the one hand and continued high prices of international bandwidth on the other.
According to Deepak Maheshwari, Secretary, Internet Service Providers of India (ISPAI), the last mile copper loop connectivity being under the control of the incumbent will pose a big challenge to the growth of broadband. Over 90 per cent of the fixed lines using the copper loop is available with the incumbents, Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL). Since these have not been unbundled for use by private operators on a commercial basis, there has been limited competition in the broadband arena so far. “Regulatory intervention is required in sharing infrastructure of this natural and historical monopoly of the copper pair in the last mile,” he says.
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