India : Internet, Broadband & Telecom Updates

* The Hindu Business Line : Internet user base grows 8 pc in Q2
THE subscriber base of Internet Service Providers (ISP) has increased by 8 per cent during the quarter ending in June. The numbers of subscribers has increased from 4.55 million in the previous quarter to 4.93 million, according to the quarterly report from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. The annual growth of this segment (June 2003 to June 2004) is of the order of 30.3 per cent.....

* Airtel brings broadband home, ties up with HCL
Bharti's Airtel Broadband & Telephone Services will push high-speed Internet for home users. People buying Airtel's landline connection will be able to opt for a PC on instalments, with some initial payment, and connect to broadband...

* Lower govt stake in BSNL, MTNL, says Pitroda
At a time when government is contemplating merger of two telecom PSUs — MTNL and BSNL, an architect of India's telecom revolution Sam Pitroda on Wednesday said merger was not the only solution and asked government to give them more autonomy by lowering stake to below the present 51%. Pitroda, CEO of World Tel and member of National Advisory Council, said, merger (of BSNL and MTNL) is not the only solution. You have to make them more independent. You have to sell the bigger piece to the public," he said on the sidelines of CII leadership summit...

* Broadband cost to be 50% less in India
Monthly consumer price of broadband soon to be Rs 500 from its present Rs 1000, while the number of subscribers is expected to multiply 4 times from its present 50,000.

* TRAI report on spectrum next month
Telecom regulator TRAI will give next month its final recommendations on the controversial spectrum allocation issue and said its report on unified licensing, which will allow internet, cable TV, DTH and radio broadcasting under a single licence, will be submitted by December.

* Trai to scan billing system
Telephone subscribers, despair no more! There’s a strong chance that you won’t have to go through the traumatic experience of rushing from one unsympathetic telephone department official to another to correct an error that has resulted in a mammoth phone bill for calls you have never made.

* Operators fail to meet quality norms
A number of private telecom service providers along with the state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL), failed to meet the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (Trai) Quality of Service (QoS) benchmark on metering and billing credibility, for the quarter ending June 2004.