As of Friday the Indian government had received 47 applications for licenses to become an ISP when the country’s market is opened up to competition in the next few weeks. The government promised early last week that it would issue the licenses this past Saturday and would name the recipients of the licenses and the government’s policy in the ISP market next week. It said it expected two or three of the companies to have completed the process by Saturday. Up until now, the state-run telco Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL) has been the only company permitted to offer internet access in India. The new ISPs will get 15-year licenses for which they will pay nothing for five years and then a token one rupee – about two cents – annually thereafter. However, they will have to put down deposits ranging from 300,000 rupees ($7,088) to 20 million rupees ($473,000) depending in which area of the country they operate and get their businesses up and running within 18 months of being granted a license, says the government. It adds that no prior knowledge of telecommunications or internet access provision is required to obtain a license.
