The Internet Service Providers Association of India has filed a petition with the Competition Commission of India against DoT’s delay in legalising unrestricted internet telephony in India. At present, internet service providers (ISPs) are allowed to offer net telephony only for international calls and PC-to-PC calls on domestic routes. Though unified operators are allowed to offer the service, no one has launched it till now. TRAI had, therefore, suggested allowing ISPs to offer unrestricted net telephony, even for domestic calls, in a bid to offer more choice to consumers. However, DoT believes that if unrestricted net telephony is allowed, it could prove to be a complementary service to existing mobile and fixed line services, disadvantaging telecom firms.
