Indian ISPs block access to rivals

Internet telephony services were launched in India in April

Several internet service providers (ISPs) in India have begun blocking subscribers' access to rival sites and internet telephony sites.

Even internet telephony services from popular overseas sites have been banned by some providers.

David Appasany from Sify - India's biggest ISP - told the BBC's World Business Report his company was unhappy with firms offering net telephony services using Sify's infrastructure.

"[They] sell net telephony cards and gain the revenue without providing the service, saying they can use any ISP to make the call," he said.

Mr Appasany said this went against the letter of the law in a country where this area was well regulated.

"The government has allowed ISPs to provide net telephony to its subscribers," he said.

Potential

Internet telephony services were launched in India in April after the government removed a ban on such services as part of its telecom reforms.

Only computer to computer calls have been authorised within the country so the benefits of domestic services to ISPs will be small.

But using this technology makes international calls much cheapler than conventional phone calls.

All 160 ISPs in the country are expected to offer their own phone services as it costs only 10,000 rupees ($204) to amend their licence.