The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) April 8 order to colocate clients’ routers on its premises has created a sense of disquiet in the Tata group-managed Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL).
For one, it feels it has been singled out as other internet service providers (ISPs) and international long distance operators (ILDOs) have not been asked to do the same. It sees this as an “unwarranted stipulation, as it has not been insisted upon from other ILDOs”. For another, it fears that its customers may churn to other service providers who do not have any such obligations.
In response to the move, VSNL has written to the regulator, requesting it to ensure a level playing field. According to company officials, despite several reminders, the authority has yet to issue a similar order to other ISPs and ILDOs. Earlier, on March 21, VSNL sent a list of ISPs along with their router status to TRAI.
TRAI, however, contends that VSNL has not been judicious in provisioning international bandwidth to ISPs. In fact, according to TRAI, some of the ISPs were provisioned international private leased line circuits (IPLCs) without co-locating a router on their premises. And since routers are specialised equipment that send messages to other users, for security concerns alone, TRAI has asked for the co-location of routers to monitor data and bandwidth usage.
VSNL, on its part, says that while it has co-located routers for all its new customers, it has not done so for all its existing customers. Senior VSNL officials are keen to clarify their stand on the matter. They claim that TRAI’s concerns are unwarranted as VSNL itself had taken the initiative earlier to highlight the need for effective monitoring of time division multiplex bandwidth leased to ISPs.
Further, taking into account the needs of the business process outsourcing (BPO) companies that had approached VSNL for usage-based network services for their requirement of serving both inbound and outbound calls, the company had sought DoT’s permission to levy bandwidth charges on a “usagebased formula”, in addition to the existing lump sum and prepayment modes available to the companies.
What VSNL has suggested is that it will charge smalland medium-sized startups a variable charge IPLC (VC-IPLC), a method of providing IPLC services with flexible commercial and usage terms. This mode of payment will be available to companies in addition to the existing lump sum amount or prepayment mode available to customers who may not find it affordable, especially smalland mediumsized companies.
Considering the potential of the BPO sector, VSNL felt a flexible offering would help the sector overcome the “problems faced by the industry, including substantial start-up costs, which could inhibit growth of smalland medium-sized call centres and restrict geographical coverage to major cities in India. The VC-IPLC method would help BPOs in tiding over the slow business set-up,” explains a senior official of the company.
The flexible model would also help call centres to install a dedicated private network solution that requires a few months to serve seasonal campaigns, and experimental and short-term projects, among others.
The company wants TRAI to look into the matter and provide a level playing field that is beneficial and equitable to all ISPs and ILDOs.
Other than this, it has been a good month for this Tata-owned long distance carrier. First, TDSAT has set aside the TRAI order lowering international bandwidth prices which would impact the company adversely. And second, the company has tied up with Cable & Wireless to provide enhanced global connectivity to its subscribers.
This is good news for corporate customers. With this tie-up, corporate customers like financial institutions, IT companies and BPO service providers will be able to access Cable & Wireless’s global network through VSNL’s domestic and international access infrastructure. Already, global network nodes have been set up in Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai to facilitate this access. The joint network put in place has diverse redundant connectivity using different cables on both the eastern and western routes out of India.
What VSNL users will get through this strategic tie-up is managed global connectivity services such as asynchronous transfer mode, frame relay, secure dial, multi-protocol label switchingbased internet protocol virtual private network with quality of service and managed private line. Cable & Wireless branded services will now be offered in India under the Tata Indicom brand name.
