So not many in the private sector are pleased with the TRAI recommendations (we’ve got a summary and a 126-page document here) on ISP licenses and Internet telephony:
— Telecom consultant Mahesh Uppal trashes, in Business Standard, the conditions that the TRAI has recommended for awarding ISP licenses go against the global norm. He calls for unbundling the last mile, and details the benefits of the move.
I think the policy hasn’t worked as the government had intended because the cost of establishing infrastructure remains a major barrier to entry. It also gives state owned enterprises like MTNL and BSNL an undue advantage due to thier ownership of the last mile. I think charging a license fee is fine, as long as one unbundles the last mile. With the current recommendations, they’ve only increased the barrier to entry.
— the COAI, a body which represents the private GSM networks is crying foul over TRAI recommending that ISPs be allowed to offer Internet telephony while paying only a fraction of the license fees. They allege that it offers ISPs an undue advantage. Interestingly, Rajesh Charia, President of the ISPAI says that cellular operators have chosen to not offer Internet telephony, which would be cheaper for the consumer, though they’ve had the permission to do so since April 2006.
So suddenly, cellular operators have found themselves in the legacy trap similar to that which fixed line networks found themselves in when cellular services were launched. Telephony is going to switch to Internet protocol, and so ISPs will eventually challenge Telco’s in their domain. They’re bound to complain – to protect their turf.
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