Even though communications and IT minister Dayanidhi Maran has announced 2007 as the year of the broadband, with state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd likely to provide connections with a minimum download speed of 2 mbps from January 1, consumers seeking a fresh connection may be in for a shock.
According to BSNL executives, the company will only be able to upgrade its existing subscribers from a minimum download speed of 256 kbps to 2 mbps and will not be able to offer fresh connections until March 2007.
BSNL’s existing capacity of 1 million ports is full and though it has placed orders for another 5 million ports, they will not be in place before March.