Those who are longing to make STD calls at 10 paise (per minute) might have to wait longer. The Department of Telecom (DoT) has sent recommendations on internet protocol (IP) telephony back to telecom regulatory authority of India (TRAI) for review just a day before the TRAI chairman's retirement.

The outgoing chairman said: “We received the comments with some references from DoT on Friday. We are expected to reply back within 15 days on the same”, reports Economic Times.

But considering the new chairman for the telecom regulator is yet not selected, TRAI is unlikely to reply soon. The current chairman may continue his job post his retirement on an interim basis - as the new chairman would take time get settled after he takes over the position. Meanwhile, general election is scheduled between mid April and May, which may further delay the decision process.

Even if the telecom regulator sends its comments back within this month, DoT is required by Election Commission (EC) not to announce anything until general elections is over, under the code of conduct.

Some reports also predict that election code of conduct may bar the government from announcing the new chairman anytime soon.

Looking at the current scenario, customers may not get to enjoy cheap STD calls via internet protocol (IP) telephony soon. In India, IP telephony is regarded unfair. However, internet service providers (ISP’s) have been lobbying in favour of it. X

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