RRN Prasad: Where`s the access code?

The wise men who formulated the National Telecom Policy (NTP) 1999 broke the vertically integrated National Telecom Network into three segments, i.e., Access (Fixed and Mobile), National Long Distance (NLD) and International Long Distance (ILD). Thanks to this pro-competition policy, competitive pressure is quite intense in the access segment (mobile) of the national network. This has resulted in a dramatic reduction in tariffs and improvement of Quality of Service. However, no such pressure is being felt by the integrated telecom players, i.e., the incumbents, who have succeeded in retaining a virtual monopoly in the long distance market. This is mainly due to non-availability of a facility called