Vsnl, Tata Oppose Broadband

[abhay 0]

TRAI, the telecom regulatory of India, has asked for a price cut in broadband only to be opposed by VSNL once again.

TRAI has said that the bandwidth rates in India among highest despite a 65 per cent drop in prices announced by the telecom regulator last week. The move has been opposed by VSNL, as it controls nearly 80 per cent of the bandwidth market.

In Japan, a 2 Mbps line costs Rs10 lakh while the same costs Rs13 lakh here. Similarly, a 45 Mbps line in South Korea costs Rs 44 lakh while the same costs over a crore here.

ISP's and IT enabled services in India have been demanding rationalization of bandwith tariffs. Though VSNL dropped the tariff by 70 per cent in June it is still over priced as compared to foreign markets.

According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, tariffs in India can be brought down to the levels prevailing in other parts of the globe through regulation until the market matures with competition.

TRAI put forth the example of Hong Kong, where the Government fixed price ceilings on dominant operators until 2002. After the market was competitive enough the price ceiling was removed so that there was no dominant player.

VSNL is not in favor of any intervention by the telecom regulator on the grounds that there was enough competition in the Indian bandwidth market to allow free market forces to determine the price.

TRAI's decision to regulate the bandwidth tariff is on the grounds that the market is not mature enough.

lol market is mature enough what a joke

1) if market would have been mature enough then we would'nt have had broadband rates that are double than most of the countries! we would have had a new revolution (broadband REVOLUTION)

unlike now which is just a BROADBAND REVOLUTION just for namesake while most of the surfers still get around 56k

if the market would have been mature enough we would have had anouther credit in out hands INDIA WHICH HAS THE CHEAPEST INTERNET ACCESS RATES IN THE WORLD JUST LIKE MOBILE RATES IN INDIA

[@ksh@T 20]

what the hELL does VSNL have ...just **** VSNL....and the TATA's.......

[Ashokjp 15]

TATA and VSNL broadband isnt seprate.

they both are same

TATAs broadband given by vsnl only..

[Arun 795]

TRAI keeps international Bandwidth price cut for VSNL in abeyance till October 3, 2005

Press Trust of India

September 14, 2005 17:38 IST

VSNL on Wednesday got a temporary relief after telecom regulator TRAI decided to keep its earlier order of announcing up to 64 per cent reduction in international bandwidth prices in abeyance till October 3.

TRAI made a statement in TDSAT to keep the tariff order of September 8, 2005 on hold till October 3, its counsel said.

The order was to be implemented from September 16. VSNL had appealed for the stay of the order. TRAI's original bandwidth reduction order of March 2005 is applicable to all other players like Reliance Infocomm, Bharti and others.

Earlier VSNL in its petition said, "TRAI has fixed tariffs on the basis of costs, which after having being demonstrated by VSNL to be erroneous, TRAI has changed its established methodology by adopting a higher denominator to arrive at a much lower figure of costs, thereby fixing tariffs at a low level.

This gravely prejudices the VSNL as the implementation of the impugned order will force it to sell capacities at below costs running into severe losses," it said.

TRAI in its September 8 order had stated that tariff regulation in international private leased circuit market is a must and urgent while calling for up to 64 per cent cut in the tariffs.

To justify intervention, it had said the decline in the tariffs for IPLC half circuit services in India is substantially less than the extent of decline witnessed in other parts of the world over time.

There is skewed market structure that is detrimental to competition. The services of IPLC are critical to the penetration of Broadband/Internet services and to IT and IT enabled services.

[wastedtime 0]

No wonder we dont get cheap broadband in india.

****ing companies like Vsnl-Tata only want to hog on consumers money

%$@#^%*^#^@^#$*%

Edited September 17, 2005 by wastedtime

[abhay 0]

TDSAT upholds bandwidth order on price reduction

In a setback to VSNL, telecom tribunal TDSAT on Monday upheld the TRAI order on fixing a ceiling on prices of bandwidth of various capacities, a move that could benefit bulk users like IT and IT enabled services companies and also in bringing down the access charges of internet.

Earlier directed by TDSAT, TRAI had carried out TDSAT mandated disclosures with the incumbent operator.

TRAI had fixed a ceiling tariff of IPLC (Half Circuits) in respect of E-1, DS-3 and STM-1 capacities are Rs 13 lakhs, Rs 104 lakhs and Rs 299 lakhs per annum respectively.

These ceiling tariffs fixed result in a reduction of 29 per cent, 64 per cent and 59 per cent in tariffs for E-1, DS-3 and STM-1 capacities respectively (as compared to the existing listed price prevalent in the market for India USA Atlantic route).

The authority had fixed the ceiling tariffs for three most commonly used capacities - E-1 (Speed of 2 MBPS), DS-3 (45 MBPS) and STM-1 (155 MBPS).

VSNL had challenged these reductions questioning the methodology adopted by TRAI to arrive at these figures and had also sought disclosure of more data in this regard from TRAI. TDSAT had asked the regulator to disclose the relevant data with VSNL.

@last some good news for broadband sector after a long time!

[linuxguy 0]

Haha! Atleast TRAI and TDSAT are still sane! Maran, BSNL, MTNL have ALL gone INSANE! :| If he says once again "India has the lowest...." I think abhay and I are going to pounce on him and tear him from limb to limb with our bare hands!

[abhay 0]

rito juss wating 4 d opportunity

but i dont think it will come if these kind of bandwidth costs reductions keep on going

Edited November 29, 2005 by abhay

[abhay 0]

hey and just as i said a goooooood news every1 i'm not gonna hang myself now!

M COMPANY u are safe as of now and dont eva say that sent again heheh

until it actully is true

IPLC Tariff Order comes into force from today

TRAI today through its Amendment to Telecommunication Tariff Order (41st Amendment) notified that the International Private Leased Circuit (IPLC) ceiling tariff fixed earlier through 39th Amendment to Telecommunication Tariff Order of September 8, 2005 will take effect from today. 

The Authority had notified the Telecommunication Tariff (39th Amendment) Order on 8th September 2005 fixing ceiling tariffs for three most commonly used capacities of IPLC i.e. E-1, DS-3 and STM-1 at Rs 13 lakhs, Rs 105 lakhs and Rs 299 lakhs, respectively, as lease rentals per annum.  Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (VSNL) had challenged this tariff order in Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) on September 12, 2005. 

TDSAT on September 14, 2005 ordered that the impugned notification be kept in abeyance till a decision in the case is given by the Tribunal. Trai had then notified another Tariff Order vide 40th Amendment to TTO, 1999 to this effect.

TDSAT after hearing the arguments of both the parties dismissed VSNL’s Appeal by VSNL on November 28, 2005 and directed that the Notification be brought into effect immediately by Trai so that the benefit of the notification to the consumer is not delayed further.

hey i think we are in for major price reductions guys

2 cheers to TRAI and TDSAT (1 i left for me )

[linuxguy 0]

abhay, it wont matter until and unless MTNL removes the silly limits it has on its DSL plans! I want 256K/512K/1024K unlimited at Rs.200/300/400 respectively! No download caps and NO port caps AND Public IPs.

Besides, the prices are STILL waay tooo high. A E1 line (2Mbps) in Europe costs around 3,90,000 a year while in India, it still costs MORE THAN 3 times the cost!

http://www.onestopclick.com/Related_Items/...Lines.asp#Costs

http://wireless.iop.org/articles/feature/6/10/2

http://www.newnet.co.uk/leasedlines/

http://www.demon.nl/eng/products/access/le...linescosts.html

There are more links. Search on google

[abhay 0]

aree bhai mere dheere dheere karke kam hota hai! kam se kam kuch toh progress hui

waise 1 mbit in 400 is a good one!

[linuxguy 0]

Who says India is the poorest? I say India is the richest! We have the freakin' highest tarrif as compared to any other country!

[abhay 0]

Reliance Info to reduce bandwidth rates by 60%

Reliance Infocomm is reducing international private leased circuit tariffs (IPLC) by 50%-60% in a move that will benefit heavy bandwidth users such as IT-enabled services (ITeS), banks and others. The reduction will bring tariffs in line with telecom regulator Trai’s guidelines.

Sources said the tariffs will be about 10-15% cheaper than that of rivals. “Trai regulations apply only to the domestic (India) circuit. Infocomm is cutting tariffs on the domestic as well as international circuits,” said sources. “The cut is being enforced with immediate effect. It will be applicable across all destinations,” sources added.

Infocomm claims that it is the first to introduce Trai directed prices. But some rivals said they were already offering prices as per the regulation. VSNL is now the largest player with around 70% market share, followed by Bharti with 20% and Infocomm with 6-8%.

Industry analysts said Infocomm’s prices had been higher than the Trai directed tariffs. “The drop in prices is aimed at meeting the Trai order. A 10-15% drop in prices is not enough incentive for customers to change loyalties, especially since rivals can match the prices,” said analysts.

Infocomm is now charging Rs 70 lakh per annum for E-1 capacity, Rs 4.27 crore for DS-3 and Rs 12.3 crore for STM-1. (E-1, DS-3 and STM-1 are different sizes of bandwidth capacities where E-1 is the smallest and STM-1 is the largest). These prices include the domestic as well as international circuit.

The tariff for the international circuit is dependant upon the agreement between foreign carriers and their Indian counterparts. “Reliance has an advantage as it has extra capacity in Flag while competitors lease it from other operators,” analysts said.

Trai on September 8, ’05, had fixed ceiling tariffs for the three most commonly used capacities of IPLC at Rs 13 lakh (E-1), Rs 105 lakh (DS-3) and Rs 299 lakh for STM-1 as lease rentals per annum. But these rates are only for the domestic half circuit and do not include the international circuit.

VSNL had challenged the Trai order which was dismissed by the TDSAT (Telecom Dispute Settlement and Appellate Tribunal) in November. It further directed that the Trai notification be brought into effect immediately so as to benefit the consumers. The new tariffs are effective November 29, ’05.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1325066.cms

[ronynandy 0]

Just to show how big a a** h*** this tata indicomm is.They have introduce unlimited

256kbps in Bangalore at 1600 p.m and unlimited 128kbps at 900,

http://www.tataindicombroadband.in/access/...el-che-ban.html

whereas their competitor AIRTEL is providing the same at Rs 999 and Rs699

respectively.This defies common sense.This speak volumes about the competence of their mangement.

Edited December 9, 2005 by ronynandy

[linuxguy 0]

Uh...there isn't effective competition cuz Airtel isn't available to everyone. So tata has little or nothing to worry about

[abhay 0]

hey was checkin out this scheme seems i could take it if @ may be 400 - 450 less

[linuxguy 0]

Yep, thats what I said. 50% more cuts are required!

[@ksh@T 20]

Reliance Info cuts IPLC tariffs by 60%

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2005 03:02:32 AM]

MUMBAI: Reliance Infocomm is reducing international private leased circuit tariffs (IPLC) by 50%-60% in a move that will benefit heavy bandwidth users such as IT-enabled services, banks and others. The reduction will bring tariffs in line with telecom regulator Trai’s guidelines.

Sources said the tariffs will be about 10-15% cheaper than that of rivals. ``Trai regulations apply only to the domestic (India) circuit. Infocomm is cutting tariffs on the domestic as well as international circuits,’’ said sources.

“The cut is being enforced with immediate effect. It will be applicable across all destinations,” sources added. Infocomm claims that it is the first to introduce Trai-directed prices. But some rivals said that they were already offering prices as per the regulation.

VSNL is now the largest player with around 70% market share, followed by Bharti with 20% and Infocomm with 6-8%. Industry analysts said Infocomm’s prices had been higher than Trai directed tariffs. ``The drop in prices is aimed at meeting the Trai order. A 10-15% drop in prices is not enough incentive for customers to change loyalties, especially since rivals can match the prices,’’ said analysts.

Infocomm is now charging Rs 70 lakh per annum for E-1 capacity, Rs 4.27 crore for DS-3 and Rs 12.3 crore for STM-1. (E-1, DS-3 and STM-1 are different sizes of bandwidth capacities where E-1 is the smallest and STM-1 is the largest).

These prices include the domestic as well as international circuit. The tariff for the international circuit is dependent upon agreements between foreign carriers and their Indian counterparts. “Reliance has an advantage as it has extra capacity in Flag while competitors lease it from other operators,” analysts said.

Trai on September 8 had fixed ceiling tariffs for the three most commonly used capacities of IPLC at Rs 13 lakh (E-1), Rs 105 lakh (DS-3) and Rs 299 lakh for STM-1 as lease rentals per annum. But these rates are only for the domestic half circuit and do not include the international circuit.

VSNL had challenged the Trai order that was dismissed by the TDSAT in November. It further directed that the Trai notification be brought into effect immediately so as to benefit consumers.

[linuxguy 0]

already read this!

[Arun 795]

Bandwidth segment is laggard here

The Hindu Business Line - New Delhi , Dec. 20

WHILE India can boast of a number of players in the mobile market, it lags behind when it comes to competition in the international bandwidth segment. While countries such as the UK and the US have more than 30 operators offering international bandwidth, in India there are only three.

While the Tata-managed Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd controls over 75 per cent of the international bandwidth market, Bharti and Reliance Infocomm have 17 per cent and 8 per cent share respectively.

In contrast, in developed markets such as France, there is heavy competition among the 34 operators.

One of the reasons for the low number of operators has been the high entry fee for offering international bandwidth. As per the existing licence regime, only international long-distance operators can offer international bandwidth for which there was a licence fee of Rs 25 crore until last month, when it was brought down to Rs 2.5 crore.

In European markets, operators do not have to pay entry fee for offering bandwidth.

India also lags in the ownership of landing cables. While in the US, 22 cable landing stations are owned by 17 companies, in India two companies control the five cable landing stations.

Lack of access to cable landing stations has created a bottleneck for bandwidth seekers in the country. In India, there are only eight cables touching the shores.

[linuxguy 0]

India s**ks! :| We need more operators.... The entry fee should be removed! The sector should be heavily subsidised!

[abhay 0]

Airtel Broadband doubles nighttime speeds

While the customers of Airtel Broadband are seriously waiting for company to upgrade their packages to 512 kbps, we have some relief in the form of double speeds on existing packages at nighttime for free. The company sent in mailers to their existing customers. However, the disappointing part of the deal is that we at TechWhack are yet to notice any increase in speeds during the nighttime.

The mailer scanned copy is available here.

Please comment if you have in fact noticed an increase in speeds of Airtel Broadband during the nighttime

http://sifybroadband.techwhack.com/359/air...ghttime-speeds/

hey thats gr888 news for airtel uses getting 512 kbps @ night @ RS 999 and i checked out other schemes also i must say airtel now has launched pretty impressive offers for u ppl

Edited January 11, 2006 by abhay

[linuxguy 0]

its not doubled for all areas.

[abhay 0]

lol its not avaliable in all areas

[Ganesh 0]

atleast not in chennai :-S