DoT cuts rates to fight ISPs

Satyam Infoway became the first private sector ISP on Sunday last with the prime minister receiving the first CD log-in kit at the time of the Hi-Tec City launch in Hyderabad while the company is scheduled to launch its services in Chennai on Friday.

Apart from dropping the modem licence fee, the DoT has at one stroke done away with the two-month waiting time which was prevalent till three days back and giving instant log-ins to subscribers. At the same time thegovernment telecom is also seeking to become more market-friendly and offer its services on a CD within 15 days from now.

Not just that. If you are not computer savvy, a friendly DoT engineer will come over to your place to configure your system to suit your requirements at no extra charge while more outlets for submission of the applications are being opened up in the city.

"We have been able to reduce the charges by interpreting the rules to the customers’ advantage," a general manager in the Hyderabad DoT said. And at the same time we will be providing many more services to the customers in the coming days is what he had to say in response to the latest competition from the private sector.

Internet services from the DoT through the VSNL gateway began in September 1996. Though the demand was there the department was able to cater to it only during the last three months with the installation of a second server.

To date there are a little over 5000 subscribers for Internet in Hyderabad through the DoTand going up by 500 every day, the official said. Though over 300 customers are said to have picked up the SatyamOnline log-in kits in Hyderabad only 190 odd have registered on the network to date, according to company officials.

The initial response to the service in the city has been good with several corporates picking up the five user kits from the market, they said. Meanwhile, R Rangaraj, the managing director of Satyam Infoway, said he had no official information on DoT’s rate cut, but said his company aimed to compete on quality of service rather than price.