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LEADER of India's main Opposition party BJP LK Advani on Saturday said if his party comes to power, it will actively promote opensource software and internet telephony, a policy that could make Microsoft and some top local telecom companies see red.
While promising one crore laptops to students, the party said in its IT and telecom vision document released today, it would spend Rs 10,000 crore on buying top-of-theline laptops with open source software. The party also plans to allow unrestricted internet telephony.
When contacted, a Microsoft India spokesman refused to comment. Experts, however, feel that this move might not have a major impact on the software giant.
"Open source has been there for a long time in the market now. Any promotional thing for open source will not make any significant difference to the major players. Both enjoy a very different kind of market and there is significant demand for both," says Akhilesh Tuteja, executive director of consulting firm KPMG.
Commenting on the BJP's IT vision, Sun Microsystem's country director Jaijit Bhattacharya said: "We welcome the IT vision of one of India's significant political parties. We believe the policy will help in improving IT industry in India through adoption of open standards and promotion of domestic web hosting industry. We hope other political parties will follow suit."
The open-source alternative Linux has been gaining momentum in the country. Not only are big enterprises opting for it, even the small and medium size businesses are making use of the open source software. Unrestricted VoIP
ACCORDINGto figures provided by an industry analyst, who did not wish to be identified, the Linux model is growing at a rate of about 28-30% on a YoY basis. Experts are expecting a 25-30% growth for the next couple of years. Another announcement from BJP, which may upset major telecom players is about the party's promise to implement telecom regulator TRAI recommendation to allow 'unrestricted' VoIP (Voice over IP). VoIP will allow Indians to call national long distance and international long distance at near local call rates via the internet. "If a NDA government assumes power, unrestricted VoIP would be made legal," LK Advani said on Saturday. Commenting on unrestricted VoIP, an official from industry body Cellular Operator's Association of India said it would give an unfair edge to any new players who enters internet telephony. If any other player is allowed to migrate to VoIP, they should pay a licence fee of Rs 1,650 crore, which cellular operators have paid and built large infrastructure, the official said. However, president of Internet Service Providers Association Rajesh Chharia is optimistic. "The call rates will come down dramatically due to unrestricted VoIP. International call rates will come down from Rs 5 to Re 1 and STD call rates will be around 25 paise from the existing Re 1," he said. Bharti Airtel, however, is also demanding a migration to Universal Access Service Licence (UASL) for ISPs if they want to offer VoIP. The BJP's IT vision however stands in quite contrast.
mansi.tiwari@timesgroup.com
While promising one crore laptops to students, the party said in its IT and telecom vision document released today, it would spend Rs 10,000 crore on buying top-of-theline laptops with open source software. The party also plans to allow unrestricted internet telephony.
When contacted, a Microsoft India spokesman refused to comment. Experts, however, feel that this move might not have a major impact on the software giant.
"Open source has been there for a long time in the market now. Any promotional thing for open source will not make any significant difference to the major players. Both enjoy a very different kind of market and there is significant demand for both," says Akhilesh Tuteja, executive director of consulting firm KPMG.
Commenting on the BJP's IT vision, Sun Microsystem's country director Jaijit Bhattacharya said: "We welcome the IT vision of one of India's significant political parties. We believe the policy will help in improving IT industry in India through adoption of open standards and promotion of domestic web hosting industry. We hope other political parties will follow suit."
The open-source alternative Linux has been gaining momentum in the country. Not only are big enterprises opting for it, even the small and medium size businesses are making use of the open source software. Unrestricted VoIP
ACCORDINGto figures provided by an industry analyst, who did not wish to be identified, the Linux model is growing at a rate of about 28-30% on a YoY basis. Experts are expecting a 25-30% growth for the next couple of years. Another announcement from BJP, which may upset major telecom players is about the party's promise to implement telecom regulator TRAI recommendation to allow 'unrestricted' VoIP (Voice over IP). VoIP will allow Indians to call national long distance and international long distance at near local call rates via the internet. "If a NDA government assumes power, unrestricted VoIP would be made legal," LK Advani said on Saturday. Commenting on unrestricted VoIP, an official from industry body Cellular Operator's Association of India said it would give an unfair edge to any new players who enters internet telephony. If any other player is allowed to migrate to VoIP, they should pay a licence fee of Rs 1,650 crore, which cellular operators have paid and built large infrastructure, the official said. However, president of Internet Service Providers Association Rajesh Chharia is optimistic. "The call rates will come down dramatically due to unrestricted VoIP. International call rates will come down from Rs 5 to Re 1 and STD call rates will be around 25 paise from the existing Re 1," he said. Bharti Airtel, however, is also demanding a migration to Universal Access Service Licence (UASL) for ISPs if they want to offer VoIP. The BJP's IT vision however stands in quite contrast.
mansi.tiwari@timesgroup.com
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