Internet Service Providers call for liberalisation of Internet in ISPAI conference

(New Delhi, August 31, 2009) In a conference organized by the Internet Service Providers Association of India (ISPAI), its member companies’ management came together and discussed the future of Internet industry in India and what steps can be taken to improve the business environment for Internet service providers. The conference (Internet in India- At crossroads) was held at Indian Habitat Center on Monday, August 31, 2009 from 14:00 Hrs till 20:00 Hrs. It was followed by a cultural program, cocktails and dinner.

This chief guest for the conference was Mr. Siddhartha Behura, Secretary – DoT. Eminent personalities like Mr. N. Ravi Shanker (Joint Secretary, DIT), Mr. Shanker Agarwal (Joint Secretary – DIT), Mr. S. D Saxena (Chairman- PTC India Foundation), Mr. R.K Bahugana (Director- Railtel Corporation), Ms. Veena Merz (IPv6 Forum India), Mr. Lalit C. Mathur (Treasurer ISPAI), Mr. Satya N. Gupta (ISPAI), Mr. Desi S. Valli (COO- Net 4), Deepak Maheshwari (Microsoft), Ankita Pal Agarwal (PricewaterhouseCoopers), Amrita Choudhary (Director, CCAOI), Dr. Mahesh Uppal (Director, Comfirst India), Mehul Kapadia (Tata Group), and others, also spoke at the event and shared their views on how the Indian economy as a whole can benefit from the liberalization of Internet.

Siddhartha Behura, Secretary DoT called for broadband to reach to rural and remote areas. He said that the total number of broadband subscribers will cross over 20 million by 2010. 3G will also enhance the Internet experience on mobile platform. He acknowledged ISPAI’s contribution in promoting Internet with masses.

Dr. D P S Seth, President, IPTV India Forum said: “There should be an incentive for ISPs and other service providers to provide value-added services. The existing license fee should be rationalized to make it a level-playing field for everyone. IPTV is the future of television.”

Mr. N. Parameswaran, Pricipal Advisor – TRA said: “ISPAI has become a platform of safeguarding the interests of all concerned. We have managed to bring in this confidence.”

Mr. N. Ravi Shankar, Joint Secretary, DIT said that there should be a greater incentive to help technology revolution to reach out to everyone. He also called for builder a greater harmony with smaller operators and vendors to spread internet to the masses. Mr. Shankar Agarwal, Joint Secretary DIT also called upon ISPAI

members to help broadband internet reach rural area.

“The needs of the internet service providers are not being well looked into by the national decision makers. It is vital to understand the huge difference between the development index of countries with higher internet penetration (USA, UK, Australia, Japan, etc) as compared to those with low internet penetration like ours. Expansion of the internet industry can make an immense positive effect on the growth of Indian economy”, said Mr. Rajesh Chharia, President, ISPAI members to help broadband internet reach rural areas.

“If we want internet to reach the Lilawatis and Kalwatis, there should not be any delay in building the ecosystem of Internet. All pieces that are involved should be brought together: The Internet policy making bodies at International and Domestic level, USO FUND support for ISP’s access, free applications of Internet especially Telephony, as well as the last miles platforms-CSC and Cybercafes”, said Mr. Naresh Ajwani, Secretary, ISPAI

ISPAI also released a report at the event entitled – “Augmenting Indian Economy Through Liberalization of the Internet”. The report gave directions on taking India forward and enhancing growth of Indian economy by removing bottlenecks in the growth of Internet. It also showed the cascading effect of broadband internet in growth of vital sectors in Indian economy and enhancing India’s GDP.

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