It was during the year 1999-2000, I happen to come across and to work in new technology called Broadband and all that I knew was it is a means to have fast internet connection. In small cities like Mysore during those days cable modems and dial-up connections were the only means to connect to the internet world. Introduction of DSL Broadband in Indian market and to prove his potential was task Herculean. There were not enough competitors for DSL Broadband Services in India, but it to create awareness of its benefits over existing popularity of economical cable modem and dial-up services.
During those days BSNL was the only telephone company which had license for voice and data services. BSNL used to offer the dial-up connection of 56Kbps speed, though the speeds were minimal, subscribers didn't have any alternative. Many private companies were interested in this telecom space, none were successful in obtaining a license to provide voice and data service due to the prevailing government policies.
Thanks to liberalisation and global policies which opened the doors for lots of investors and private company's to explore new ventures in India. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India [TRAI] notified interested company's can obtain license for Data services in India. Internet Service Provider [ISP] suppose to obtain a license from TRAI based on region and the kind of service he is willing to offer by paying annual license fee. Chennai based Sterling commerce owned by Shiva Shankar obtained the license for Class-A ISP and started DSL Broadband Data Services in cities like Chennai & Bangalore initially under the name of Dishnet DSL. A new beginning for the internet revolution in India started!!!