India’s efforts at setting up a National Internet Registry have gathered momentum, with the Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC), the registry for this part of the world, putting up the application moved by the National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) for public comments which will be received till month-end.
The registries handle the allocation and registration of the number resources required for routing Internet traffic.
The Internet is dependent on a number-based address system (Internet Protocol or IP) to identify and locate devices and ensure proper data flow among them.
The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority allocates resources to the regional registries that carry forward the process at the national and local levels. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and other end-users, including companies, government organisations and educational institutions, use the services.
It may take three-six months for the APNIC to clear the application, says Rajesh Aggarwal, who till recently was additional CEO of the NIXI involved in taking the NIR proposal forward.
Support service in Hindi
Talking to The Hindu, he said an Indian registry would help to reduce cost, benefiting smaller customers. The rates might come down by 30-50 per cent.
Support services could be provided in Hindi too. With the help of the government or industry, many IP blocks could be subsidised to help to proliferate server hosting.
Mr. Aggarwal said customers having their own IP blocks were expected to find it easier to switch bandwidth providers.
The bigger allottees of IP addresses like telecom companies and big ISPs might choose to do business directly with the APNIC, and this would help India retain its vote share in that body.
Twists and turns
The move to set up the national registry has not been without twists and turns. It began in 2007, when the Internet Service Providers Association of India (ISPAI) submitted an application to the APNIC. The move had no government endorsement and was dropped. The NIXI submitted its application in August 2008; in January 2009, the ISPAI endorsed the application, and a proposal to operate the national registry as a consortium emerged.
Representatives
Later the Department of Telecommunications informed the APNIC that the Telecom Engineering Centre (TEC) was to establish the registry. Finally, the DoT and the Department of Information Technology agreed that the NIXI itself could go ahead with the application and the registry could have representatives from the telecom sector, including the DoT and the TEC, on its board.
