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Both Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) will launch the Broadband Services through out the country from 15th of January, next year. While MTNL will launch the services in Delhi and Mumbai, BSNL will do it from Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad on the same day. This was announced by the Minister of Communications & Information Technology, Shri Dayanidhi Maran while addressing the first meeting of the Members of the Consultative Committee attached to his Ministry, here today. The Department is targeting around 10 million Broadband service users by the year 2007. It will be another success like the mobile telephone services revolution in the country, he said. Shri Maran was speaking on the recently announced New Broadband Policy, which was the agenda for the meeting. According to the Minister, though the 256 Kbps costs Rs. 3000/- in the market the Telecom PSUs have agreed to provide the same services at Rs. 500/- month, which is significantly low and that will make users more confident to use the broadband services. While VSAT should also be used as small hubs the Government is also allowing DTH operators to operate broadband Internet and uplink after fulfilling necessary licensing conditions. He further stated that the Government has relaxed the conditions for outdoor use of frequencies to promote Wi-MAX and Wi-Fi.
Elaborating further on the features of the New Broadband Policy, Shri Maran said the policy has been finalised after taking into consideration all relevant aspects, including the recommendations of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on accelerating growth of broadband and internet penetration. He assured the members that the Department will also closely monitor and facilitate the spread of broadband and will take corrective measures as and when required. Since the Government is committed to promote advanced technologies and is not captive of any particular technology the service providers are free to opt for the technology of their choice which ultimately come out from a healthy competition. The Government has decided to encourage and make the small operators of the Cable TV to depend on the big players, such as BSNL, MTNL or any other private players and they can also make use of broadband for their customers. The Government has also announced recently State Wide Area Network (SWAN) Policy, National Internet Exchange (NIXI) and ‘In’ domain policy, he said.
Speaking about the great digital divide the Minister said that while the tele- density in urban areas is 25 per cent it is only between 1.2 and 1.5 per cent in the rural areas. In view of this, he stressed the need to shift this trend from urban to rural areas.
The members appreciated the steps taken by the Ministry in the area of broadband and stated that the new policy provided the flexibility and opportunities for further growth of telecom sector. Keeping in view the large number of villages without telephone facilities, the rural telephony should be accorded top priority. Some members pointed out the long waiting lists of mobile phones and non-availability of SIM cards in many cities. They wanted that necessary steps be taken immediately to clear the backlog and make availability of the SIM cards. Another member suggested the improvement in the working of Community Information Centres operating in the North-eastern states. The members suggested that a full-fledged discussion on the rural telephony in the next meeting.
The following members attended the meeting: S/Shri Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Iqbal Saradgi, Narayan Chandra Borkataky, Dr. Laxminarayan Pandey, Smt. Sangeeta Kumari Singh Deo, D.B. Patil, Kishan Lal Diler, Bir Singh Mahato, Vanlalzawma, Sanat Kumar Mandal, Suresh Kurup, Sita Ram Yadav, Munshiram, A..P. Abudullakutty (all from Lok Sabha), Dr. Faguni Ram, Dr. Chhattrapal Singh Lodha, T.R. Zeliang, Nilotpal Basu and Datta Meghe (all from Rajya Sabha).
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