Telecom regulatory authority of India (Trai) feels there is scope for further reduction in bandwidth prices, thereby leading to reductions in the cost of telecom and IT as well as IT-enabled services in the country."There are already some movements in that direction (of a further fall in the bandwidth cost), which can be seen in cases like VSNL and Reliance where one of the players was granted access to the landing stations of the other in India by an international court of arbitration," Nripendra Misra, chairman of Trai, told PTI."There is further scope for reduction in the bandwidth prices. It is likely to reduce as more bandwidth will be available," Misra said.In 2005, Trai had earlier reduced bandwidth rates and set a ceiling on it. It had slashed the global leased line circuit rates by 70%. Trai has also underlined the need to remove bottlenecks in cable landing facilities and enhance competition in the IPLC market.Bandwidth is a key resource for offering international long distance telephony, IT services and BPO firms.Experts say the international leased line (bandwidth) prices in India will witness more competition and may drop by 30% depending upon capacities.
