Residents of Balagere, Panathur Dinne, and Gunju Road have started an online petition addressed to Karnataka government authorities demanding action against internet service provider monopoly.

Eight months have gone by since the residents of a neighbourhood located close to the IT hub along the Outer Ring Road area of Bengaluru raised the issue of poor internet connectivity and monopoly of one internet service provider in the area with government authorities. However, there has been no remedy and the local private internet service provider continues to be their only option.

In another attempt to get a solution, residents of Balagere road, Panthur Dinne, and Gunjur areas have started an online petition via change.org calling upon authorities to act on the issue. Residents allege that Zednet, the internet company, is able to exercise monopoly owing to the support of local political influence. The petition by the residents has been addressed to the Minister of Forest, Kannada and Culture Aravind Limbavali, Bengaluru Central MP Chikkamuni Mohan, Police Commissioner Kamal Pant, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, and Deputy CM Ashwath Narayan.

This is the second such petition started by the resident community, a majority of whom are IT professionals in need of stable internet in the current work-from-home (WFH) situation. Residents also claim that the owner of Zednet allegedly threatened them against raising complaints. “Many major Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have tried to implement their services by laying their cables but fearing the local cable operator, their staff did not dare to complete the installation. We hope that people won't lose jobs in these tough times due to this,” the petition stated.

In September 2020, TNM had reported that residents were going to take part in a virtual meeting with Mahadevapura MLA and Minister Arvind Limbavali to resolve the issue.”The meeting was held, the MLA’s office acknowledged the issue and said that steps will be taken to address the concerns of the residents following the meeting. But no change has taken place which is why we have started this new petition,” said a resident of Balagere on request of anonymity. “It is a complete monopoly exercised by Zednet, we strongly feel he is supported by local politicians,” he added

The entire area of Belagere, Panathur Dinner and Gunjur has over 6500 homes in total, of which more than 80% require an internet connection to continue work or attend school during the ongoing pandemic. Residents are of the opinion that other major ISPs need to be allowed to come in, so that there is an option to choose and the competition between providers will result in better connections for all houses. “We are asking for the local service provider to make peace with coexisting alongside other providers. It can either ramp up their quality or let us have an option to choose. This disruption cannot continue,” another resident who is an IT professional told TNM. “We, the residents, ask for timely intervention in the matter, action against the company in question, and guarantee to basic facilities such as the internet,” he added.

TNM has reached out to the company for a response and the story will be updated once they reply.

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