Us Waiting For Vsnl Reply Over Callback Service Curbs

The United States government is waiting for Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL) to send detailed information before taking any steps to restrict callback services.

Our position is that callback services are legal in the US. But, if another country declares callback to be illegal, and asks us for assistance, we can place restrictions on our carriers, FCC chief of policy and facilities in the international bureau Troy Tanner said in a telephonic interview from the commissions offices in Washington, DC.

In a letter sent to VSNL a month ago, the FCC asked for clear documentation establishing that callback services are illegal in India, and for the names of companies providing the facility between the two countries.

 

The hurdle that has to be jumped as the Indian government needs to show that the call back facility is illegal under its law, Tanner said.

FCC also require the Indian government and VSNL to do their own footwork in providing precise information about the companies offering callback services between the two countries before imposing any restrictions.

VSNL is yet to reply to the letter. Several senior Indian telecoms officials, however, have repeatedly emphasised in the recent past that banning callback services is a top priority for the government.

Callback services to India are increasingly popular in the US, with carriers offering hugely discounted rates of 80 cents, or less, a minute between the two countries.

Indian consumers, in contrast, pay an average of Rs 84 a minute for and this is not the first time that the FCC has been asked to intercede and place restrictions on callback services.

In an earlier instance, Saudi Arabian officials, satisfied the FCC that callback services were illegal in their country, and provided the commission with a list of carriers providing the service.

The carriers, surprisingly, denied that they were providing the services, or even that they had plans to do so in the future. FCC is yet to take any action in the case.

In another instance, the main carrier in the Philippines filed a complaint with the FCC about callback services originating in the US. The case is still pending.