Unlimited Net access soon

New Delhi, Dec 5: In a move which could significantly alter the internet scenario in India, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd MTNL has for t...

New Delhi, Dec 5: In a move which could significantly alter the internet scenario in India, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd MTNL has for the first time decided to introduce unlimited internet access for a flat fee. Internet service providers ISPs in India have so far shied away from this pricing structure, although it is widely prevalent in countries like the United States and Britain. The MTNL board also decided to lower its tariffs by 15 per cent with effect from December 13.

The tariff cut will bring down access rates from the existing Rs 21.50 per hour to around Rs 18, making MTNL8217;s Bharat Online8217; service one of the lowest priced Internet service providers in India.

Rajagopalan added that the board had earmarked Rs 500 crore for investing in private internet and telecom ventures. quot;We intend to take equity positions in companies on the lines of mutual funds and not necessarily target majority stakesquot;, he said and added that the rationale behind this was to hold strategic positions in successfulventures.

As part of this, Rajagopalan said that talks had been initiated with Sun Television, which is starting an Internet and other value added services in Chennai. Sun TV, a Madras-based television channel in Chennai recently announced plans to invest in the Internet business.

The navratna PSU has also decided to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange NYSE before the end of January. Rajagopalan said ICICI Ltd would make a presentation to MTNL on the proposed NYSE listing.quot;We will also start due diligence exercise soon and conform with US GAAP accounting standards soon, in order to meet the target date for listingquot;, said Rajagopalan. MTNL will convert the 11 per cent GDR outstandings into ADR8217;s as the US markets are more liquid.

MTNL will continue with its GDR listing on the London Stock Exchange, Rajagopalan said. quot;We are leaving the option to convert from GDRs to ADRs to the investorsquot;, he said.

The company has also decided to expand into other telecom-related in order to increase thetopline. quot;Currently I have margins of more than 20 per cent which will not remain the case in the futurequot;, Rajagopalan said.

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quot;Margins in the basic phone services are coming down and will continue to do so. The days of mega profits will not last for long and we will have to expand to maintain profitabilityquot;, he said.

Rajagopalan said MTNL8217;s proposal to take over the telecom networks of department of telecommunications in Madras and Calcutta had not been approved by the government and a plan to offer phone services in Bangladesh was delayed.