The Hindu Business Line : ISPs want a share of broadband pie

The Internet Service Providers (ISPs) continue to press for a more flexible regulatory regime that offers them scope to play a larger role in the telecom revolution.

Their concerns include exclusion from broadband expansion, where the last mile or copper can be opened up and ISPs can use the existing infrastructure to offer services, while also securing permission to offer VoIP (voice over Internet protocol) services within India.

Of the targeted 30-lakh broadband connections, barely six lakh have been provided. If ISPs are also allowed to be part of this market, this number would grow faster, they feel.

High Pressure

The Managing Director of Vebtel and a Member of Internet Service Providers Association of India (ISPAI), Mr Kusumba .S., said pure play ISPs are under significant pressure, with most of them unable to break even.

This is because large infrastructure service providers are also in the fray and are better placed to offer services and reach out.

Giving some insights into how the market is shaping up for the ISPs in India, Mr Kusumba said, of the 340 licensees in the country about 150 of them are operational.

But most of them are not doing well financially, as they are restricted in terms of the range of services they offer due to regulatory issues. That means some of the potential revenue streams are not accessible to them.

While international players can offer Skype downloads and garner revenues, Indian ISPs do not have access.

For instance, in Hyderabad there were 28 ISP licensees and of them 18 were active, now barely six are active, he pointed out.

The other issues relate to 6 per cent revenue share and 12.5 per cent service tax.

The Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC), the regional Internet registry, recently hosted a training event for ISPs, where about 60 representatives from telecom and ISPs took part. APNIC is one of the five in the world responsible for managing the public IP (Internet protocol) address resource pool.

Training event

The Internet resource analyst of APNIC, Mr Srinivas Chendi, based in Sydney, said that the event which has brought together ISPAI, NIXI (National Exchange of India), to train ISPs on new issues, including Domain Name System management and security.

Increasingly security has become a major challenge for ISPs.

Managing large flow of information and issues relating to spam management needs specialised training and focus, and APNIC event here has been organised to help ISPs, Mr Kapil Chawla of APNIC said.