Rajesh Chharia, president, ISPAI, said small ISPs are not able to sustain because regulators are tough on them. He said a liberal regulatory regime that permits free entry and exit has been the hallmark of almost all major countries, including the US, Canada, Australia, and virtually all members of the European Union. But, such a liberal regulatory regime is absent in India. He further added that most government targets for the Internet and broadband access remain unmet.

Of the 350 ISP license holders, only about 150 are operational, raising questions about the reasons for such a poor performance in the Internet services while other services have become widespread and affordable. He also said that power supply is a major concern for penetration of broadband in rural India.

Commenting on the sorry state of broadband penetration, Agarwal said more and more states are looking to provide broadband in rural areas to provide triple play. But the catch is that governments don't want to invest in it, instead they want to have a public-private partnership. He further said around 50,000-60,000 km of network is required for rural expansion and a wireless network is the best option to provide connectivity over there.

He also said that for RoI from broadband, one has to look at alternative sources like entertainment and cable TV. Regarding VoIP, he said it has a huge potential and a serious look at it is needed. On SAARC, he said a minimum speed of 2/10 Mbps should be made mandatory.

Commenting on VoIP, Vinayak Rajanahally, regional director, Indian Subcontinent, iBasis said it is a great application and it will act as a driver for increasing penetration of personal computers and broadband in India. He felt that wireless will be a widely accepted technology in the coming years.

Commenting on consumers' point of view, Singhal said the consumer's major interest lies in the quality of service. He was of the opinion that VoIP will continue to make inroads, as business is not only about voice and data, but is also about killer application.

Bhattacharjee concluded the discussion by saying that majority of the panelists were of the opinion that for increasing broadband penetration, wireless is the most viable option and educating the masses will act as a catalyst for speeding up the broadband penetration in rural India.