And the winners, according to market-watchers, will be the ISPs with the best infrastructure, if slightly higher charges.

The two deciding factors of ISP service are smooth connectivity -- internationally, 10 connections per ISP telephone line is the accepted norm -- and speedy data-transfer, which necessitates a bandwidth of at least 64 kbps. As Vadodara Netizens will testify, neither is the strongpoint of the public sector players; this fact gives the private ISPs a strong handicap at the starting line.

So, though DoT or VSNL connection rates may be cheaper than that of a private ISP, all the aces seem to be lie with the latter. ``If one can complete work that takes one hour on a VSNL/DoT line in less than half-an-hour on a private ISP line, one saves on the service hours as well as the length of the telephone call'', pointed out a market-watcher. ``Holistically speaking, then, it is the efficacy of the service that will count more than the prices''.

Among the ISPs, Planet Internet and Wilnet have a considerable advantage as they already have a presence in Vadodara. Wilnet Communications Pvt Ltd, which has its own international gateway, in fact, already has 400 dial-up Internet subscribers which they plan to expand to 1000 shortly.

Talking to Express Newsline, Wilnet franchisee Electro Deal's Yogesh Vilani said, ``We charge Rs 3,000 for 100 hours; Rs 6,500 for 270 hours and Rs 10,000 for 550 hours. An additional Rs 500 is levied as the registration charges''.

(VSNL, in comparison, offers 100 hours for Rs 2550, 250 hours for Rs 5525 and 500 hours for Rs 8500).

For the moment, Electro Deal has 60 telephone connections, which it intends to increase up to 100 to keep the 1:10 ratio intact.

While Planet Internet was not forthcoming about its deals -- though a spokesperson said its services will be ``streamlined'' by mid-April -- Satyam Infoway, which plans to join the race by June 15, will have three packages for the Vadodara Netizen: 25 hours for Rs 990; 100 hours for Rs 3,900 and 500 hours for Rs 9,900.

According to Satyam's Senior Executive (Internet) Nipam Kottiar, its high rates were not likely to affect marketability because ``there is absolutely no competition from either VSNL or DoT in Vadodara''.

``Besides'', he sais, ``we are offering much better services than VSNL since we firmly adhere to the 10-connections-per-telephone-line norm. The procedural hassles have also been taken care of. All our customers have to do is install a ready-to-use software -- a Rs 4,000 package we will provide free -- and get connected''.

To start with, Satyam will set up 40 lines, targeting a customer base of 400 subscribers. ``DoT is likely to release the telephone lines shortly,'' Kottiar added.