Agencies
 
New Delhi, Aug 19: Those who are dreaming to call from their personal computers to mobile phones or fixed land lines, have a reason to smile. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in its major decision on Monday allowed complete opening up of Internet telephone services.
 
The TRAI decision will permit the Internet service providers (ISPs)  to provide unrestricted Internet telephony that means they can terminate Internet telephony calls on PSTN (public switched telecom network) or on land lines and mobiles and vice-versa. At present, a voice call can travel between two computers but not from a mobile or a fixed phone. By allowing Net telephony from personal computers to mobile phone or fixed lines, it is expected to open huge channels of revenues for Internet Service Providers (ISPs).

The decision is also expected to fuel further competition in the domestic long distance segment and lower STD tariffs, said an official in the Telecom Ministry. “It is envisaged that customers will be ultimately benefited from cost effective and innovative Internet telephony service. The grey market tendencies shall be curtailed,” said TRAI in a statement.

The TRAI even allowed the National Long Distance (NLD) operators to connect to ISPs through public Internet (Internet cloud) for unrestricted Internet telephony. But for that to take place, ISPs and NLDs will have to agree for unrestricted Internet telephony, said the statement.
 
 
The Telecom Engineering Centre (TEC), a technical arm of the Department of Telecom, will work out the number plan for the ISPs to enable them to offer telephone services.

“Telephone numbers from identified blocks shall be allocated to ISPs, Unified Access Service Providers, Basic Service Providers and Cellular Mobile Service Providers for internet telephony,” TRAI said.