BSNL Gujarat circle emerges as top ISP

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd's (BSNL) Gujarat telecom circle has become the largest Internet service provider in the country with 21 nodes across the state.

BSNL offers Internet services through its countrywide access network called Sancharnet, which offers dial-up Internet access services across all the towns and cities in Gujarat.

"BSNL is the leading Internet service provider across the country and Gujarat contributes a significant part in it.

At present we have more than 60,000 Internet connections across the state. We expect to witness over one lakh connections in the next financial year," said B K Karecha, general manager, development, BSNL.

BSNL's Internet services include the Sancharnet card, through which one can create a new account with a user ID and password, while the existing Sancharnet customers can renew their account.

Recently BSNL had introduced the direct Internet access system (DIAS), which allows 44 hours of online Internet surfing and telephone conversation simultaneously on the same telephone line.

The DIAS facility offered by BSNL requires no dial-up Internet connection or modem. It offers a high-speed Internet surfing with a speed of 64-128 kbps.

In case of a power failure, there is no interruption in the conversation. BSNL's PSTN dial-up Internet access is available through ordinary telephone lines at speeds up to 56 kbps and the charges are based on the hours of use.

Its ISDN access is given through the high performance lines, with speeds starting from 64 kbps. This facility has the ability to use the phone or fax concurrently with the Net.

The leased line facility of BSNL provides round-the-clock and unlimited access to the Internet. It helps the user to be online without the need to dial-up and can remain online as long as the computer is on without any charges.

With BSNL's WebFone Internet telephony services, a subscriber can make international calls and domestic long distance calls from PCs-to-PCs using Internet telephony services.

Through WebFone, a subscriber can talk at Rs 4.50 per minute to the US, UK, Canada, Germany and Singapore.

The WebFone service is also available at BSNL's Internet dhabas and kiosks. A customer having access to BSNL's Internet network through leased lines can also avail of this service.