Internet telephony can help government meet broadband targets: IAMAI

Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) has applauded Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) recommendation to allow internet telephony in the country. IAMAI believes that internet telephony can motivate people to get internet and broadband and subsequently graduate to other innovative use of internet based applications. The move may also help the government to meet its broadband targets.

According to IAMAI, about 30 per cent of the PCs in India are still not connected to the internet and the government is woefully lagging in meeting its broadband target. While the targets were 9 million subscribers by 2007 and 20 million by 2010, at the end of April 2008 there were only 4 million broadband subscribers in India.

“The recommendations are a timely intervention to mitigate the well-proven ‘market failure’: nothing else can explain the fact that while unrestricted internet telephony had been legally allowed to UAS (Unified Access Service) Licensees since January 2006 none offers this service even today,” Subho Ray, president, IAMAI, has said.

“By this set of recommendations, the Regulator has reinforced the spirit of competition and brought India closer to true convergence. These recommendations need to be implemented immediately in order to transfer the benefits of ‘disruptive technologies’ to the people,” Subho Ray has added.