Hisar, November 22
Thousands of Net surfers subscribing to the VSNL Internet service in Haryana have been left in the lurch after the Indian IT corporate giant suddenly terminated its services in the state on Tuesday without any notice. As a result, the BSNL has become the sole Internet service provider (ISP) in the state. Notably, there are more VSNL subscribers in Haryana than those using the BSNL’s service.
The problem has been compounded by the fact that the BSNL is not releasing new Internet connections for the past several months on the plea that it does not have the capacity to do so. Originally, the VSNL was the sole ISP in Haryana for several years. The Haryana Telecom Department was, in fact, providing netizens in the state with VSNL connections. Later, the VSNL started selling pre-paid cards for new connections and renewals were also done online through credit card transactions.
However, after the BSNL came into being, it began offering its own Internet connections. However, access to VSNL subscribers in Haryana continued on the 172222 numbers. Since the BSNL stopped giving new connections in the state, most people purchased VSNL pre-paid cards. As a result, the number of VSNL subscribers in the state continued to grow at a fast pace.
According to an estimate, VSNL subscribers have collectively lost several crores in the shape of balance hours for which they have already paid. As there is no hope yet of the BSNL providing new connections, VSNL subscribers face isolation from the Net for an indefinite period. Mr Ramesh Arya, GMT, Hisar, said new BSNL Internet connections were being offered only to educational institutions and rural cyber cafes. There is no possibility of releasing connections to the general public in the near future.
The VSNL subscribers have also lost their e-mail accounts since they cannot access their accounts anymore. Even if they were to get new BSNL connections in the future, they will have to create new e-mail identities. Most netizens are heavily dependent on e-mail service and change of their e-mail addresses will cause them much inconvenience. Business houses using e-mail face the prospect of severe losses as they have been suddenly cut off.
Most Net surfers generally subscribe to several e-mail newsletters of their interest. They have now been suddenly deprived of their daily dose of issues of their interest. Students using the Internet for their practice lessons will be the worst hit as they can no longer access their Net gurus. Likewise, thousands of families who have relatives abroad can no longer remain in touch with them. Over the past few years, e-mail facility has to a great extent replaced communication through letters and phones.
