Net Subscription Up 25% After Tariff Cut
The number of Internet subscribers in the country has shot up 25 per cent after the introduction of new tariffs on January 1 this year. The number of Internet accounts with the Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL) and department of telecommunications (DoT) has jumped from some 60,000 to over 75,000 in the last five weeks, sources said here.
VSNL and DoT have reduced the charges for a TCP/IP (transfer control protocol/ Internet protocol) account from Rs 15,000 to Rs 10,000 for 500 hours usage as of January 1, under instructions from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
In India, only VSNL and DoT offer Internet subscriptions to the public at present. Closed user groups like the Ernet of the department of electronics and Nicnet, under the Planning Commission, service only educational institutions and government users. Ernet and Nicnet are estimated to account for over 40,000 users.
VSNL, by far the largest Internet service provider (ISP), has a presence in six cities Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Calcutta, Chennai and Ahmedabad.
Subscribers to VSNLs Internet service are estimated to have increased from about 50,000 to nearly 64,000, accounting for most of the fresh additions this year. Some days, we have been sanctioning more than 650 new subscriptions, a VSNL official here said.
DoT operates Internet servers in seven cities at present. Subscribers to DoTs Internet service most of them from Pune, Hyderabad and Chandigarh are pegged at a little over 10,000.
Under the new TRAI-notified rates, ISPs are allowed to charge Rs 3,000 for 100 hours of TCP/IP account usage; Rs 6,500 for 250 hours; and Rs 10,000 for 500 hours.
TCP/IP accounts enable Internet users to view both graphics and text. Incremental slabs of 20 hours each are available at Rs 30 an hour. Most of the fresh connections are in the 100-hour slab, sources added.
Not only that, the introduction of the new (slabs of) tariffs have ensured that shell accounts dont have any new takers, the VSNL official said. VSNL has been discouraging the use of shell accounts, which allow only text-based access, because the tariffs on such accounts do not cover the costs. Shell accounts are priced at Rs 5,000 for 500 hours, but are provided for one-tenth that to students.
The Union government, which unveiled a promotional Internet policy last October allowing entry of private ISPs, wants the number of Internet users in the country to increase to 1.5-2 million users by the year 2000. Private Net service providers have not been issued the licence agreements yet.