Delhi ISP firm in dock over operations in Bihar

PATNA The Bihar and Jharkhand field office of the department of telecommunication (DoT) is set to recommend to its head office to revoke the licence of a Delhi-based internet service provider (ISP), having licence for Delhi NCR, after it found operating in Bihar through local agencies, telecom officials have said

PATNA

The firm in question, IPNET Communications Private Limited, has denied it was providing internet services anywhere across the country, except Delhi NCR, for which it had “category B” ISP licence. (AFP/Getty Images)

The Bihar and Jharkhand field office of the department of telecommunication (DoT) is set to recommend to its head office to revoke the licence of a Delhi-based internet service provider (ISP), having licence for Delhi NCR, after it found operating in Bihar through local agencies, telecom officials have said.

The firm in question, IPNET Communications Private Limited, has denied it was providing internet services anywhere across the country, except Delhi NCR, for which it had “category B” ISP licence.

“We didn’t operate anywhere under the company banner of IPNET Communications (P) Ltd. We were operating only in Bettiah with the name of IPNET under the company banner IPNET Broadband Network (P) Ltd, which has ‘category A’ ISP licence (VNO),” said the firm’s director Prateek Shukla, in an e-mailed response to the Hindustan Times on Friday.

A virtual network operator or VNO is an entity that does not own a complete telecom network infrastructure but provides telecom services by purchasing capacity from network service operators (NSOs).

While “category A” ISP licence allows a firm to operate across the country, “category B” licence limits the operation to a particular geographical area mentioned in the licence.

The DoT, however, said it had found evidence of the IPNET Communications Private Limited’s operation at Bettiah and Mirganj in Bihar’s West Champaran and Gopalganj districts, respectively.

“We have found technical footprints of the ‘category B’ VNO licencee for Delhi area in Bihar since August last year. One of the local operators in Mirganj area of Gopalganj district has even given us a written statement that the firm had misled it and was providing internet services through it in the area for the last nine months,” said director (technology & security), DoT, Bihar, Krishna Nand Rai, who recently conducted raids on some local agencies in five districts of Bihar.

Shukla, who is also the director of the IPNET Broadband Network, a sister concern of the IPNET Communications, claimed his firm began its internet services in Bettiah after getting the letter of intent from the government in April.

The DoT has meanwhile, disconnected internet service of the local operators and initiated steps to blacklist them.

“We will ask the Indian Registry for Internet Names and Numbers (IRINN), which allots IP addresses and other internet resources like domain name, to revoke the public IP (internet protocol) addresses of the Delhi-based ISP and the local operators. Besides, we will move our head office to revoke the ISP’s licence under Section 8 of the Telegraph Act,” said Rai.

Companies without valid authority providing internet connection through local operators to individuals is a security risk as it becomes difficult for investigating agencies to establish the public IP address of the end user, said DoT officials.

“We are also exploring how public IP addresses were allocated to the ISP, the local operators and their franchisees, who do not fulfil the conditions for grant of public IP. Misuse of IP is a security threat,” said Rai.

“Even in case of the IPNET Broadband Network, which has a category A ISP licence (VNO), it cannot have its own public IP address. As per licence conditions for VNOs, it has to take IP address from its NSO. We will look into violations by this firm, if any, separately,” he said.

Shukla avoided a direct response to Hindustan Times’ query if the IPNET Broadband Network was authorised to have its public IP address.

“As per guidelines of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and DoT related to ISP and their franchisee, it is mandatory to run end subscribers with proper public IP addresses through which internet logs can be examined easily. That’s why the National Internet Exchange of India sub-department IRINN allows IP addresses to franchisees also,” he said.

Rai, however, said, “The Delhi-based VNO and local operators in Bihar cannot trade public IP address. Any such violation makes them liable to forfeit all the allocated internet resources and related rights by IRINN.”

The DoT discovered the unholy nexus of unauthorised firms providing cheap data connection to households and commercial establishments during a raid on some local operators in Saran, Siwan, Gopalganj, East and West Champaran districts between August 13 and 15.

“Such practice leads to loss of government revenue by way of evasion of taxes and licence fee, and also compromises national security,” said Rai.

More such raids would follow, he added.

Earlier, the Intelligence Bureau and DoT, in a joint operation in Patna on June 18, 2020 and July 20, 2021, had busted a racket of illegal routing of international data calls through mobile calls from local numbers. The raids had led to the arrest of four persons.

Web of deceit

In the net

Some local operators in Saran, Siwan, Gopalganj, East and West Champaran districts were raided between August 13 and 15 for providing cheap data connection to households and commercial establishments.

DoT’s take

Companies without valid authority providing internet through local operators is a security risk as it makes difficult for probe agencies to establish the public IP address of the end user. It also causes tax losses to government.