India will lag behind China on growth in internet subscribers unless the government adopts

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reforms in the phone industry to provide better access, said Sify Technologies CEO Raju Vegesna.

India at present has a very small internet penetration, Vegesna said in an interview at Bloomberg’s headquarters in New York.

“The government has to change to expand it. The government prohibits internet service providers such as Sify from using phone companies lines, preventing India from growing as quickly as China and South Korea,” he said.

Only 4 per cent of India’s population uses the internet, according to Vegesna. Internet companies have to create their own infrastructure in order to provide services, he said. The company plans to increase its four data centres by two next year, he said.

Sify at present has around 6 million broadband subscribers, he said. Aside from providing broadband services, Sify also operates more than 1,800 e-ports in its cyber cafes. The company plans to boost revenue by charging fees from customers who pay utility bills and buy railway and airplane tickets through the internet.

The company is also expanding into e-commerce. Vegesna said. “We are expanding our hardware network and service. It will be similar to Amazon.” Sify did not see growth after the partnership with Google.