"The traffic on the Internet backbone is currently doubling every 100 days and the major backbone at peak time are suffering from packet losses which can go up to 40 per cent,'' VSNL acting chairman and managing director Amitabh Kumar said.

He was delivering the key-note address on `Internet Service Providers - Opportunities and Challenges' at ISP India 99, the three-day interactive conference and trade show for ISPs here on Monday.

Kumar said the government should set up a national level Internet exchange in the country for the benefit of multiple ISPs. "Multiple ISP operators in the country require a common exchange point for interchange of traffic flowing within their customer group and content sites," he added.

In the long term, it isdesirable that VSNL be allowed to operate as a national exchange point in additional to set up gateway facilities for which most ISPs could eventually need to connect to VSNL.

"The response from corporate and individuals for becoming the ISPs has been encouraging. Till two weeks ago, 72 ISPs have been given licences since the Internet policy announced in last November by the Prime Minister. The poor infrastructure facilities are a limiting factor for the growth of Internet in the country," he said.

VSNL, the exclusive provider of international telecommunications service to and from the country, has become a member of the Internet Service Providers Association of India (ISPAI. "We want to hear the problems of the association members," Kumar said.

He said VSNL is also embarking on an expansion plan which also includes the enhancement of the optical fibre system for the Internet. It is also planning to expand its Internet capacities to offer more value added services to the customers.

Over the years,VSNL has shown consistent growth in terms of its machinery and fiscal volumes. It is possible to have International Direct Dialing (IDD) to 236 countries worldwide from over 10,112 towns and cities as on December 31, 1997.

VSNL, which introduced its Internet services in 1995-96, provides services to more than 1,68,867 customers. The company has over 1,035 International Private Leased Circuits (IPLC) and over 375 leased lines to Internet users in India. Internet provided a revenue of Rs 560.90 million to the company during the fiscal 1997-98.

VSNL operates from main gateway centres in Mumbai, Calcutta, New Delhi and Chennai which have computerised telephone, telex and telegraph switching exchanges. The company also operates international gateways in Bangalore, Pune, Kochi and Jalandhar with a total capacity of 17,000 circuits.