MUMBAI: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has reduced the international bandwidth prices by up to 70 per cent. Following this, tariffs for ISD, Internet and broadband services are expected to come down.
 

According to a Trai release, the ceiling tariff for international Private Leased Circuits (IPLC) half-circuit in respect of E1, DS-3 and STM-1 capacities are Rs. 1.3 million, Rs 10.4 million and Rs 29.9 million per annum respectively. Operators are at liberty to offer tariffs that are lower than the ceiling tariff fixed by the Authority.
 
 

International bandwidth, provided through IPLC, is the medium of carriage of data and voice services across countries in the world. The International Bandwidth service is generally provided through submarine cable systems and through satellite media. In India, submarine cable systems is the most predominant mode of delivery of IPLC services. The providers of the service are the International Long Distance operators. The main users of IPLC in India include Internet Service Providers, Informational Technology (IT) and IT-Enabled Service Enterprises like Business Process Outsourcing Units and International Long Distance Operators.

The Authority had initiated a consultation process by issuing a consultation paper in the year 2004 with a view to examine the possibility of regulating the IPLC market. This consultation process has culminated in the issue of this Amendment (34th) to Telecommunication Tariff Order. This is for the first time that Trai is regulating the tariff for international bandwidth.