In an effort to increase competition and improve service quality in e-business, e-governance, Internet access, BPO and IT industry, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), on Friday, issued regulations on Domestic Leased Circuits (DLC) that are expected to lead to more affordable services.

The new regulations would also open up the possibility of meeting customers’ demand for end-to-end leased circuits by obtaining DLC from other service providers, TRAI said. Tariff ceilings for local leads and ports have also been prescribed in the new regulations.

Domestic Leased Circuits are important elements in the telecom market that are used to connect customer sites or customers to their own or other service providers networks.

Unlike broadband, a leased line is not shared but delivers dedicated guaranteed bandwidth.

“Leased circuits are and will remain a key component for economic growth of the country,” TRAI said, adding that as per conservative estimates the aggregate DLC market, including virtual private networks, would be Rs 3,000 crore by 2008 and grow to Rs 4,500 crore by 2010.

The regulator said that while some policy initiatives taken by the Government had resulted in greater competition in DLC and IP VPN market, in markets where some service providers rely on facilities provided by others for delivery of their services, it was appropriate to establish a framework to ensure that the market functions effectively. The dedicated bandwidth of leased circuits is its major scoring point.