The good news is that Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited are already testing such a scheme. The technology is called DIAS, and was developed by Banyan Networks, a company formed by alumni of IIT, Chennai.

MTNL is expected to launch DIAS for its corporate clients in a month.

Ravindra Kumar, an MTNL officer involved in the DIAS implementation, says this technology would allow users to be "permanently online" with digital lines connecting the DIAS modem to the phone line: "Unlike cable-connections, where Internet speed reduces as the customer base increases, DIAS will maintain a constant 128 Kbps, just like a leased line, irrespective of the size of the user base."

Another benefit: You can talk over the phone and surf simultaneously because DIAS bypasses the phone line, using the physical copper pair from the user premises, to connect to the Internet. The only hitch is that 64 Kbps would be allotted to the voice transfer, leaving your Internet speed at 64 Kbps.

"MTNL will be launching DIAS in Delhi and Mumbai simultaneously in a month's time, and we plan to make our presence felt in other cities too," Ravindra says. "A trial launch was done a year ago in Prabhadevi (in Central Mumbai). MTNL is now testing it for handling a large user base of corporate clients. It has not been implemented in full swing as we do not have capacity to serve too many clients at the moment. Cost will be on download basis, depending on the slab. Right now we're charging Rs 1,000 per subscriber in Prabhadevi."

Kishor Kumar, MTNL deputy general manager (marketing), says the commercial terms for the launch of DIAS are not yet finalised.

"The cost effectiveness of the service will depend on usage, and it would primarily benefit those who have a high Internet-surfing time," says Ravindra.

Another telecom company in the fray is Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). Its DIAS service is already operational in Pune, Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Chennai.

S D Naik of BSNL says the charges for their DIAS connectivity is:
Rs 3000 security deposit; refundable but non-interest-bearing;
Registration fees: Rs 2000 non refundable;
Monthly rental: Rs 1800;

These charges are for unlimited Internet access. "The modem will be supplied by BSNL and there will be no usage charges other than the normal telephone rent," Naik adds.

Ravindra feels other ISPs and local cable TV operators may try to compete with a similar product, but he doubts whether they will be able to offer 128 Kbps speeds, as they do not have the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) infrastructure that MTNL does.

Dishnet has already deployed a similar service for always-on Internet connection in eight cities. They offer 64 Kbps speeds, with Rs 10,000 as a one-time installation and registration charge. The technology, called DSL (digital subscriber line) is offered at a monthly cost of Rs 1,995 for unlimited access.

"What MTNL is offering is DSL itself; just differently named," claims Charu Lata, a Dishnet officer.

'Our Dishnet DSL prices are as low as Rs 995 per month for 64 Kbps connections going up to Rs 39,960 per month for 512 Kbps connections,' says the (www.ddsl.net) Dishnet site.

However, Dishnet DSL doesn't allow voice calls, as it's not linked to the telephone exchange.

Hughes Telecom offers an Internet connection by default with a telephone connection. According to Makrand Pawar from Hughes Tele.com, MTNL's DIAS package already includes your phone bill charges, so it's no great shakes.

While admitting that DIAS works on the same basis as DSL, Ravindra says, "We have the advantage of a telecom cable network, which they do not."

Also Read: -- Always-on Net from your cell phone -- Why Sufers unsure of PC to phone services -- Broadband: 8 sites

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