New Net access service in MP

Touchtel, India's first and largest fixed-line telecom service provider, has launched digital subscriber line service under the Touchtel DSL brandname in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. In the first phase, the service will be available in Bhopal, Indore and Raipur.

"We will launch DSL services in Jabalpur, Gwalior in the second phase," said a Touchtel official here.

Touchtel DSL, the first of its kind service for the Internet access in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, provides Internet speeds as high as 512 kbps using the telephone cables as against a maximum of 56 kbps available on the other dial-up services. Customers can also use the connection for voice calls while surfing the Internet.

"We are targeting individual subscribers, and small and medium enterprises," said Badri Agrawal, president of Bharti Infotel Ltd. The service would be available at Rs 200 a month to individual customers and the data would be available at 512 kbps to 8mbps, he said.

Touchtel DSL will also be available on the wireless mode. Making a brief presentation, here on Friday the Bharti official said there were 4 million Internet users in India and the figure was likely to touch 6 million. "All of them are dial-up customers except for 1.5 per cent DSL customers. The number will go up," he said.

Remarking that DSL offered instant connectivity, he said the customer could download a picture, movie clip and data would remain protected.

The services is scaleable depending upon the use. Individual users will be paying rates, which are the same as for dial-up connections, and get Internet access at 128 kbps.

"DSL offers the freedom to access data and voice simultaneously over high-speed uninterrupted broadband platform, which means no more engaged telephone line when a customer is surfing the Internet," he said.

"DSL is a broadband Internet/data access technology riding on the state-of-the-art copper and fibre based network. It is the most convenient and reliable way to state connected. Unlike other cumbersome modes of Internet access, DSL allows the freedom to talk while one surfs. Users can run applications like video conferencing, downloading songs, movies on demand and net meetings," he said

A Touchtel DSL was economical and customers would get five emails IDs with 10 MB storage space with each connection, he added.

Business users too can get bandwidth speed as high as 512 kbps at a monthly rent of Rs 2,495. In addition, Touchtel has also offered attractive schemes for customers to take the required modem on a rental basis.