| Sunday, August 26, 2007 |
| ISP License and Entry Fees - A Step Backwards |
|
The Government of India wanted to cleanup non functional ISPs, but the consequence of the policy towards this exercise is a burden on existing ISPs which are likely to pass it on to their subscribers - a hefty 6% revenue share clause.
The Government under DoT recommendations have imposed a License Fees, apart from the Entry Fees [Rs 10 or Rs 20 Lakh]. All District level ISPs have to migrate to State or National licenses.
I am wondering what is the rationale behind such a move ? Ministry of Commerce in fact encourages small and medium businesses. As long as these small operators are providing value for money, they will survive, why is the government having vested interest in strangling them ? Their is a terrific demand for Broadband Internet in India and even a dozen ISPs of the scale of Bharti Airtel will be unable to fulfill this demand.
Mr. Amitabh Singhal, Director, ISAPI, said
The new recommendations will do nothing to lift the broadband penetration in the country. The whole exercise has been to merely modify and roll the 1998 policy even further back. It offers no new grounds for innovation, customer benefits and actually throttles the Internet sector, and is unprecedented for any democratic country and its governance of Internet. Thank you Government of India. |
| Published on Sunday, August 26, 2007 at 8:23 PM |
|
|
|
