India has 6,07,491 villages. NTP ’99 is an ambitious policyand envisages provision of low data services to 2.9 lakh villages by December2001, i.e., all village phones would actually be Public Tele Info Centres (PTIC),having Internet capability. It also proposes to upgrade existing 3.17 lakh VPTsto PTICs by 2002. NTP ’94 had laid down great emphasis on rural communication.Under Universal Service Obligation (USO), every private basic service providerwas to install a specific number of DELs and VPTs in rural areas on a quarterlybasis.

As the goals set out in NTP ’94 for VPTs have not beenachieved so far, it was recognized that neither DoT nor private operators wouldfulfill the obligations under normal commercial considerations. Hence NTP ’99stipulated raising of resources for this purpose through the imposition of aUniversal Access Levy (UAL), which would be a percentage of the revenue earnedby the operators under various licences. This would be decided by the Governmentin consultation with TRAI. UAL should cover both capital expenditure andrecurring expenses. USO would be undertaken by all fixed service providers whoshall be reimbursed from the funds raised from it.

DoT had been collecting huge revenue surplus for the lastfifty years being a monopoly player with abnormal STD call charges. During1998-99, DoT earned a revenue of Rs 10,320 crore and utilized only 20 percent ofthe surplus in rural areas. Of the 4.5 million new connections provided in1999-00, less than 30 percent were outside the 12 largest cities. It provided1,63,167 VPTs on landlines and 2,11,313 VPTs on analogue MARR systems.Functioning of these telephones is a big question mark though. These villageswill have to be reconnected.

To prevent the entry of private operators in National LongDistance (NDL) telephony, it created the bogey of VPTs. It attributed thedecrease in revenue surplus to revised STD tariff and its effect on new VPTs,claiming to be only agency capable of providing this service. Once NLD wasopened, it resorted to new strategy—sabotage the USO fund management. Modusoperandi being subscribers in urban area up to 500 calls per month was broughtunder USO. They claimed compensation for the VPTs already installed. The fundwas frittered away. Thereby, they would claim that only they could connectvillages.

TRAI has suggested considering inclusion of low calling urbansubscribers (between 200 to 500 calls per month) in the USO. This is what DoTwanted.

Conclusion

But this is what is against the spirit of universal service.

Col SN Agarwal is telecom consultant to Voluntary Organization in theInterest of Consumer Education (VOICE).