WorldTel was the first player to get exclusive rights from the state government to set up 1,500 CICs and has a licence for two lines-each of 24 optic fibre cables, with each cable having 2.3 giga bits per second capacity. But other Internet infrastructure service providers like Bharti Telecom, Dishnet, Enron Broadband Communication and BPL have also been given licence for installation of optic fibre cable network (OFCN) in the state.

With the competition jumping onto the bandwagon, competition among ISPs will intensify for bandwidth sales. This could, potentially, impact on the WorldTel bottomline. The Tamil Nadu government is also actively encouraging the setting up of Internet kiosks through private service providers and this is also expected to put WorldTel's nose out of joint. The decision to encourage outsiders other than the joint venture partner WorldTel comes in the wake of a feeling of deep disappointment in the state government, owing to delay in the project. One of the reasons for the delay is believed to be the company's inability to offer a design which fully meets the requirements of the state government.

Confirming the decision of the Tamil Nadu government to aggressively push for setting up 10,000 Internet kiosks in the state within one year, Prof. MAnandakrishnan, the IT and e-Governance advisor to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, said the WorldTel model which boasted of being profit-making and employment generating was conceptually found wanting. The Tamil Nadu government, he said, is seeking multi-functional Internet kiosks that would truly serve the community. "We are encouraging other private players to come and promote community Internet centres with a proper design. Many venture capital firms have shown interest in this idea and are willing to tie up with service providers to set up Internet kiosks with access to fibre optics backbone. Some are willing to provide access to solve the last mile problem through wireless communication as well," he said. The state government has also received a cluster of business proposals to provide IT-enabled services like call centres. However, wiring of the cities and townsis expected to gather pace and WorldTel is likely to complete wiring up Chennai city by end December. Reach with value addition is what the TN government is looking for with these CICs.

"We do not want them to be merely browsing centres or offering tutorials to students. They must be multi-functional with multi-capabilities to offer service windows like e-mail, e-commerce, online education and training," Prof Anandakrishnan said. WorldTel and other ISPs have been given the right of way to set up optical fibre cable networks in all major cities and towns like Coimbatore and Madurai. But since digging of roads for laying the cables was posing problems, ISPs have been urged to explore trench-less options. WorldTel is expected to energise about 24 fibre optic cables in the first instance with a total capacity of 100 Gigabits per second. But given the rate at which the state government is growing in IT sector, Prof Anandakrishnan said this capacity will be absorbed quickly.