The GSM lobby, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), has come out in opposition to TRAI’s recommendations to allow unrestricted domestic internet telephony, though some constituencies have supported the move.

COAI believes the move breaches the level playing field, as the internet service providers (ISP) will benefit the most by offering net telephony services without incurring any additional cost. COAI wants ISPs to acquire a Unified Access Service License (UASL) before getting into domestic net telephony.

TRAI has said that the ISPs and NLDs need to put a stop to unrestricted internet telephony to allow national long distance operators to connect to ISPs through the public Internet for telephony.

On the other side, the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) has welcomed the recommendations from TRAI, as it feels the move would benefit the BPO industry to a large extent once it gets approval. The IT and BPO trade body is quite optimistic about the move, as it is said to remove the last barrier to internet telephony. NASSCOM has been reportedly trying to achieve the same.

Predictably, the ISP Association welcomes the move. Association president Rajesh Chharia has appealed to the existing operators saying not to treat ISPS as their competitors. Although what else they can treat these ISPs as? X

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