gibreel ferishta
Even before the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has taken its first steps towards allowing connectivity between PCs and phones, telecom operators and Internet service providers (ISPs) are locking horns over the issue.
In separate communications to the regulator, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications have stated that if voice over Internet protocol—or, VoIP, which basically means using the Internet for telephone calls—is allowed, ISPs should be asked to migrate to the unified access service licence (UASL) regime.
State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has gone even further to state that PC-to-phone calls should be disallowed, as it would destroy the national long-distance structure.
At stake is the wide difference in licence fees paid by telecom service providers and ISPs. The former pays Rs 1,650 crore for a pan-India licence fee, while ISPs pay a token fee of Re 1. Currently, Internet telephony is allowed but only from PC to PC, for which ISPs pay 6% of their adjusted gross revenue.
telephony VoIP TRAI DoT BSNL UASL
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