After number portability and integrated mobile directory enquiry service, the department of telecommunications (DoT) has accepted another consumer-friendly recommendation of the Trai on allowing resale of international bandwidth.
The move will revolutionise data carriage with prices dropping by almost 35%. BPO units, software exporters, call centers, banks and other small and medium enterprises will immensely benefit from the move, as they are the major users of leased line services.
However, international long distance operators like VSNL, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications will face more competition in terms of offering the rates.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had recommended in March this year for resale in international private leased circuits (IPLC) segment by creating a new category of licence. Resale is the sale or lease of telecom services to an end consumer on retail basis after leasing from a telecom service provider on commercial basis at wholesale prices.
In case of resale of IPLC, resellers are required to take IPLC from licensed international long distance operators (ILDOs) and sell to end-consumers like BPOs, banks, exporters etc.
DoT has accepted the recommendation, which now needs the approval of the telecom commission.
While accepting the recommendation, DoT has suggested changes in the licence fee for resellers, which Trai had put at 6% of the adjusted gross revenue (AGR).
DoT has said that if the licence fee for reseller is kept at 6%, the AGR of the ILD operator should not include the revenue accrued to the ILD operator through sale of the IPLC to the reseller.
As a further alternative it has suggested that AGR of resellers should be gross revenue as reduced by the procurement charges of IPLC paid to the ILD operator from whom the IPLC has been procured.