Vsnl, The Tollkeeper

Only Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) does not seem to think so. The monopoly provider of internet services is projecting itself more as a toll-gate keeper on the information superhighway than as a builder of that highway. The only thing VSNL seems to want out of the internet is some quick money. India is among themost expensive places in the world for internet access - $19 a month in the US for unlimited access compared with Rs.10,000 for 500 hours in India.

What is VSNL doing to adapt internet technology to Indian conditions and languages? Precisely nothing. Nor is it a player of any worth in the international community driving internet growth. India is not even represented on the Internet Council of Registrars, a network of internet service providers in 23 countries, and the World Wide Web Consortium which is laying the rules for web management.

 

VSNL should lay its claim to the regulatory bodies as a representative of one of the largest internet markets in the world to make sure Indian interests are protected. These may range from easy placement of Indian language content on the web to locating the large exchange servers in India to improving connectivity speed.

Most important of all, VSNL needs to look at standards of bandwidth being set. Bandwidth greedy applications, incorporating colour pictures, voice and video, take up too much access time. For instance, your simple e-mail will have tens of colour ads popping up from every part of the screen, not letting you concentrate on your message. Why should Indian consumers exhaust their 500 hours reading bandwidth greedy messages that have no relevance to them? VSNL should fight for the right to not be bombarded with spam (unwanted) mail and advertisements. This is important for countries that have poor telephone infrastructure like India and which cannot handle the billions of bits of superfluous data.

VSNL urgently needs an R&D wing for the internet to get a better understanding of the medium and to make its contribution to Transfer Control Protocol and Datagram protocol --- standards for transmission and reception for text and video. The introduction of Integrated Services Digital Networks in cities with net access should be a priority to prevent phone lines being locked up. So should the spread of net access to small towns and villages with India- specific connectivity servers.

A small initiative has been taken by the Department of Electronics by forming an autonomous internet society to conduct research. But since the department is not an internet service provider, it may not find a voice in international fora against the behemoth that is VSNL. The latter does not seem to care because the internet brings in only a small fraction of its revenues (There are barely 60,000 connections in India). VSNL earns the bulk of its revenue from overseas calls so it is opposed to net telephony. The Ministry of Communications needs to consider allowing internet service providers to set up their own international access networks or to hive off VSNLs internet business into one or two government companies dedicated to the internet.