VSNL's Gift To The Competition

In August, VSNL ISP subscribers got a mail from its acting director. As
always, it was via its helpdesk, to discourage feedback. (I wrote, and got
polite 'your mail has been forwarded to our seniors'. The seniors did not
reply.)

Summary: I could no longer use pkr@cmil.com as my address. To continue using
VSNL Net access, I would have to switch to pkr@vsnl.com. When stepped outside my
office, my mail would not go out any more unless I gave up my cmil.com identity.

What did I do? I switched ISPs. And found better connects and features. Many
of the 100-odd roaming or home e-mail users in our company followed suit.

Now why would VSNL do such a thing? 'To block spam.' Good, I said — but the
flood of spam on my VSNL account continued. And I found I can easily send mail
using fake@vsnl.com or the like.

The more likely was that VSNL was trying to promote its commercial 'Vmail'
service for businesses. In subsequent media statements VSNL's director implied
that e-mail was a privilege, not a right; there was no reason to expect email
with Internet access, and so on.

Roaming users have anyway had a tough time with VSNL. My local connects when
traveling are erratic, with authentication failures with the home server in
Delhi. If I connect, I can not send mail — VSNL Delhi refuses to relay mail
from another VSNL server! I have to know the names of local servers in Chennai
or Jaipur and make that change whenever I travel — or, dial long distance into
Delhi.

Most ISPs do not have this problem. If the city you've traveled to is
supported, so are your home settings. (ISPs do block third-party relay: you
can't send mail through an ISP's server if you haven't dialed up through that
ISP itself.)

Of course, private ISPs do not have the reach of the VSNL-DoT network. Not
until they come up with a national roaming agreement a la the cellular network,
to take on VSNL.

VSNL's latest "spam" step is an opportunity for private ISPs to
convert VSNL's corporate individual users. With higher quality of service,
flexible email, multiple usage on a single billing account, and periodic bills.
And by using their own subscribers to spread the message.

These corporate individual accounts are important. They're high usage, and
often get shared. Multiple users need only enough dial-in ports — not
overheads like billing or email accounts. And they're an entry point for
corporate services that most ISPs are aiming for — from leased lines to
specialized mail, hosting, and more. If the ISPs move fast, they can collect on
VSNL's gift — and VSNL could get a better preview of 2002, when it loses its
long-distance voice monopoly.