1. Presentation to Chairperson, TRAI on Key Issues of ISPs by ISPAI Internet Service Providers Association of India www.ispai.in

2. 2  Introduced and promoted the concept of Cyber Café / Public Kiosks in the country.  Introduced, development and promoted VPN Services for the Corporate in the regime of high cost of Bandwidth.  Started Internet Telephony Services at lower prices.  Played vital role in spreading and educating people /corporate about the usage/benefit of Internet.  ISPs brought competition in the Industry – resulted in low prices & good services/ support. Initiative by ISPs

3. 3  Focused and local service providers – close to the customer. They are like your neighborhood friend.  Played vital role in spreading and educating people/ corporate about usage / benefit of Internet.  ISP brought competition in the industry – resulted in low prices & good services / support.  Focus on value added services – Can help in spreading the e-Learning, tele / e-Medicine, E-governance applications to the remote / tier C & D cities.  It is establishment that Broadband Services has multiplier impact on the growth of GDP & improvement in the quality of life of the people. Credit goes to ISPs. Why Stand-alone ISPs

4. 4 Broadband as Key Infrastructure  Broadband should classified as “Key Infrastructure”  Income Tax benefits u/s 80(I) (A) should be allowed to ISPs and other licensees authorised to provide Internet/Broadband.  Cyber café’/ public kiosks should be exempted from the Service Tax as they are helping in spreading the usage of Internet Broadband in the places where it is difficult to afford PC/Internet. Support from USO Fund  Must be provided to All Operators / Service Providers offering Broadband Services to Rural Areas;  Limiting the same to voice telephony alone mean higher dependence on subsidiaries.  Let broadband network offer a cheap voice service to rural people along with other services/applications. Key Issues of ISPs

5. 5 Bandwidth Prices  International bandwidth and domestic leased lines contribute about 60-70% of the cost in the provision of Broadband.  Though prices for Int’l as well as Domestic leased lines came down substantially, however, it is still high comparing to many countries where broadband penetration is quite high. Check on Predatory Polices & Practices  Time to time ISPAI has been taking up the matter with TRAI about the predatory policies and practices by Incumbent as well as other UASL operators.  ISPs should be treated as bulk customers and be given whole sale prices. TRAI should ensure and keep an eye on the same.  Incumbent and other UASL operators should not deny provision of any resources to ISPs just because some resources have been provisioned from other service provider. Key Issues of ISPs

6. 6 Internet Telephony - Level Playing Field  ISPs Vs foreign service providers such as Net 2 Phone, Vonage, Dialped, Impetus, Novanet, Euros, Skype, Yahoo etc are providing I..T. to SMEs, Corporate,, BPOs, Call Centres without having register in India and without any license.  Whereas ISPs providing similar services have to pay 12.36% Service Tax and 6% AGR.  It is loss of revenue to Govt as well as loss of opportunity for Indian ISPs.  It is also serious security threat to the nation as they do not come under any Indian regulatory/ policy framework. It may not be possible to obtain any data such as CDRs from them. Key Issues of ISPs

7. 7 Restricted Internet Telephony :  Hurts Consumers and  Government Revenue  Help flourishing Gray Market  Loss of opportunity for legitimate ITSPs Key Issues of ISPs

8. 8 Internet Telephony -Termination on PSTN/PLMN - Simple Economics Income calls to India by ILD/Access Providers Calling card from US to India – Rs 4 Breakup Foreign Service Providers get- 50 paise Carrier- 50 paise ADC/AGR to DoT- Rs. 1.20 Profit to ILD/Access Providers- Rs. 1.80 In case service provided by ISP Foreign Service Providers get- 50 paise Carrier get- 50 paise ADC/AGR- Rs. 1.20 Access Service Providers-.30 paise ITSP gets-.50 paise  Total- Rs. 3/-  33% per cent cheaper than the ILD/AP providers Key Issues of ISPs

9. 9 Non-Termination on PSTN/PLMN - Simple Economics Out going calls to US by ILD/Access Providers Current Rate – Rs 4 per minutes In case ITSPs allowed to terminate on PSTN/PLMS Foreign Service Providers get-.40 paise Bandwidth-.15 paise Foreign Carrier-.30 paise Access Service Providers-.30 paise ITSP gets-.15 paise  Total- Rs. 1.30/-  275% per cent cheaper than the ILD/AP providers Key Issues of ISPs

10. 10 IPTV  Is not a technology per se, rather it is a value added services which can be provided on the broadband network.  ISPs are in a position to provide triple play.  Rs. 100 cr. Net worth has kept most of the stand alone ISPs out of the business. Accelerating the speed of e-Governance  Govt should encourage states to accelerate the pace of e- governance process and put more and more public utility information and services on the Internet. Content Development  Broadband infrastructure is meaningless without appropriate content. Govt (Both Central & State) should provide more content in the local languages. Key Issues of ISPs

11. 11 Synchronization, Encryption & Security  Unless users find comfort level in terms of security & experience, serious broadband adoption would be difficult to achieve.  Synchronization of all clock-based telecom eqpt within the country with national clock is must, especially relevant for real-time applications and security point of view.  40 bit encryption need to be review. Most of online activities like booking of railway/air tkt, banking transactions etc require at least 128 bits encryption. Key Issues of ISPs

12. 12 Removal of Category ‘C’ License  Will harm consumer interest in niche areas not serviced by the bigger players.  Kill the opportunities for the small entrepreneurship which can serve consumers in the remote as well as non-commercially viable city/districts.  No gain to Users, Industry nor Government. Key Issues of ISPs

13. 13 Spectrum for Broadband  Spectrum policy favour Voice against Data  ISPs are being neglected which are the major stake holder in Wi-Max and Wireless Broadband  Auctioning of Spectrum will translate in to increase of prices for Broadband services in the country which is a price sensitive market.  ISPs will be out of the business.  Atleast 3 frequency band must be reserved for ISPs which will help increasing penetration in the rural areas. Key Issues of ISPs

14. 14 Thank You www.ispai.in