ISPs who had discontinued providing VPN services under the amended licence issued by DoT in January 2005, are awaiting the government’s approval to restart these services. In August, TRAI recommended that ISPs be allowed to offer VPN services at an entry fee of Rs 3 million with no annual licence fee. Only six ISPs of the total 180 operational ISPs had opted for the amended licence. Over 170 ISPs discontinued their services as they were unable to pay the entry fee of Rs 100 million, in addition to the 8 per cent adjusted gross revenue spelt out by DoT. The ISPs challenged DoT’s directive before the TDSAT, which, in turn, directed the regulator to fix the quantum of entry fee and revenue share.
