So far, internet nodes through DoT are available at Ahmedabad and Surat with a total subscribers base of nearly 5,000.

According to Gujarat Telecom chief general manager PK Chanda, internet nodes with larger capacity are likely to be commissioned at Baroda and Rajkot, besides Ahmedabad and Surat, by December and the remaining 19 district towns by Republic Day.

With a sharp drop in internet rates effective this month, he expectd a larger response from prospective users.

Chanda said that although licences have already been issued to 33 private internet service providers (ISPs) in the state for operation on an all India basis, they have apparently restricted their operations in high volume urban areas with profit as the sole motive.

Talking about the virtual calling card facility, he said that nearly 2,500 customers have availed of the intelligent network service in Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar and Surat within four months of the launch. It would be made available to Rajkot by February.

The ISDN service, now available on demand at the four major cities, would be extended to five more business centres at Jamnagar, Bhavnagar, Anand, Nadiad and Ankleshwar. Chanda said that there was a waiting list of 2.30 lakh telephone lines when he had joined the Gujarat circle in September. It has been reduced to 1.87 lakh by now and would be completely wiped out by March 31.

Referring to inordinate delay in issuing the telephone directory, he said the department proposed to solve the problem soon. At some places it is overdue by two to three years. Out of 17 secondary switching areas (SSAs) in the state, each headed by general managers or telecom district managers, it has been issued in four SSAs during the current year. He proposed to issue directory or supplement for the remaining SSAs by March 2000.