The Hindu Business Line : `Lower phone tariffs for dial-up users'

The percentage of Internet subscribers using dialup connection for Internet access has decreased from 84 per cent in March 2005 to 60 per cent at the end of June 2006.

New Delhi , Nov. 28

In a bid to increase the Internet penetration, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has proposed to reduce telephone charges for using dial-up services. In a study on the status of Internet and broadband, the TRAI has said that high telephone charges is acting as a hindrance for the uptake of dial-up services.

The percentage of subscribers using dial-up connection for Internet access has decreased from 84 per cent in March 2005 to 60 per cent at the end of June 2006, with a number of users preferring to take up broadband access.

Tariffs

While the TRAI has acknowledged that broadband services have an advantage over dial-up connections in terms of being always-on and not interfering with the use of telephone line to make calls or send faxes, higher tariff has made dial-up access highly unattractive for consumers. For instance, an MTNL dial-up user pays Rs 6 per hour for accessing the Net and Rs 24 per hour for using the telephone. Similarly a VSNL subscriber in Delhi and Mumbai pays Rs 29 per hour for surfing the Net of which Rs 24 per hour goes as phone charges.

PSTN Charge

"Considering the lowest tariffs for dial-up service offered by BSNL, Internet access charge of Rs 5 per hour translates into a charge of 8 paise per minute, whereas PSTN charge (charges paid for using the telephone line while surfing the Web) is approximately double the Internet access charge during peak hours and equivalent during the off-peak hours", the study said. "Therefore, it can be said that to bring down the composite dial-up charges, PSTN charge for dial-up service has to come down," it said.

"Therefore, it can be said that to bring down the composite dial-up charges, PSTN charge for dial-up service has to come down," said the TRAI study. The telecom regulator pointed out that while the Government target was to reach 18 million Internet subscribers by March 2007, there are only 7 million subscribers at present.

The TRAI has said that the minutes of usage per subscriber per month for dial up Internet access has declined from 400 minutes in 2004 to 175 minutes. While the TRAI proposal is in line with the Internet service provider's demand to reduce fixed line telephone charges, fixed line operators are against the move since it will have an impact on their revenues.

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