Providing a Platform

The recently held sixteenth edition of Convergence India received a mixed

response from exhibitors and industry experts. The event was held from March

19-21, 2008, at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, and was supported by the department

of telecommunications and the department of information technology.

For many foreign players, the event was a fantastic platform to showcase

their products and become familiar with Indian business needs. But many others

felt that compared to last year, the event lacked intensity.

There were around 550 exhibitors who displayed their products and service

this year as compared to 455 from 24 countries in the 2007 edition. The event

saw participation from over thirty countries including Italy, Finland, Norway,

Holland, and Latvia and four country pavilions-China, Korea, Taiwan, and the US.

The participating countries displayed latest technologies in the broadband

and wireless space, VoIP, optical access networking, 3G, m-commerce, multimedia,

broadband services via satellite and ASP, mobile phone accessories, conditional

access technologies, satellite receivers and transmitters, DTH technologies,

encoders, decoders, IPTV, video-on-demand, etc.

Diverse Audience



Siddhartha Behura, secretary, Department of Telecommunications (DoT),

inaugurated the event. He highlighted the need for more investments in the

telecom equipment sector as it comes to mobile handset manufacturers to

accelerate growth prospects. He hoped that 75% of the required equipment would

be made in the country itself. “The broadband growth is the next big thing to

happen in India. The present slow growth of broadband in India will certainly

get a boost from the reduction of CPE prices and the universal service

obligation (USO) fund initiatives,” he said.

Though numerous companies displayed their products, companies like MTNL, BSNL,

Ericsson, IBM, Motorola, Nokia Siemens Networks, C-DOT, Alcatel Lucent, RailTel,

and Tyco Electronics managed to retain the attention of visitors.

The Show Begins: Delegates during the inauguration ceremony of Convergence India in New Delhi on March 19, 2008

Acclaimed as South Asia's most prominent ICT event, Convergence India roughly

covered every section of IT, telecom, broadcast, mobility, cable, satellite, and

data security.

“India will soon become a superpower in telecom, with Indian operators

routinely racking up over 8 mn new mobile customers every month. Events like

this provide an opportunity to learn and relate new technologies, both globally

and nationally,” said RSP Sinha, chairman and MD, MTNL.

Sinha said that MTNL has already launched mobile TV services in Mumbai and

Delhi where users could also see each other in addition to hearing the voice.

Though the event was a perfect platform to connect with the government,

policy makers, and various industry associations, it lacked the sheen that was

visible last year. “No doubt, the response was slightly low as compared to last

year, but we are confident that the event would bring more laurels to the

industry in the coming years,” asserted Uday B Abburu, VP, Product Management,

Ordyn Technologies.

Many industry experts showed their concern on broadband and rural

connectivity. The need for strong infrastructure, creative business models, less

legal complexities, and customized solutions were major points covered by most

vendors and experts.

“The Indian telecom sector is one of the top sectors responsible for our

economic growth. There should be a clear focus on the country's rural sector now

as more than 75% of the population lives in villages,” said Muthu Logan,

president and CEO, Brovis Wireless Networks.

Commenting on convergence, Logan said: “The event renders a high-quality

stage to understand and discuss the needs of telecom with different segments of

industry people, and to be honest, we really need some more good platforms like

this to understand market demand.”

The company was showcasing scalable broadband wireless networking systems for

enterprises, governments, and service providers.

Having a Look: NK Goyal, president, TEMA (left), RSP Sinha, CMD, MTNL, and Siddhartha Behura, secretary, DoT, visit at a stall at the Convergence event

“Lack of infrastructure is a major obstacle in connecting rural India. There

is a lot of hidden potential in the rural sector and if the demands of strong

infrastructure and connectivity are properly implemented, we can see the change

in a very short span of time,” said A Sethuraman, head, Solution, Strategy and

Marketing, Alcatel-Lucent India.

Talking Business



According to Navin Vohra, country manager and director, South Asia

Operations, Andrew Wireless Solutions, operators have started to realize the

growth potential of rural teledensity in India, and for that they need

customized and cost-effective solutions that will enable wireless operators to

manage their networks better, increase accuracy in measuring network

performance, enhance service levels, and significantly improve coverage.

Andrew Wireless Solutions also showcased its new range of solutions that

includes Node A RF Enhancer, a multi-band selective repeater that claims to

provide cost-effective indoor coverage.

Echoing similar thoughts, Linda, manager, Marketing, Driver for

Communications Expander, Ericsson, said, “In today's scenario, we need solutions

and business models that could help us expand communication further to the

under-served rural areas.”

“More traffic in existing networks and introducing new empowering services

are various opportunities available for enhancing revenues,” she added.

Another hot technology subject of the event was IPTV, which, according to

experts, is going to be a killer application of the broadband in the coming

years.

There were a number of concurrent synergistic sessions on topics like

next-generation networks, mobile convergence, information theft, data management

for enterprises, DTH, IPTV, business drivers and solutions in telecom services

and applications, developing mobile communications in rural areas, etc, which

were conferred by eminent industry speakers from across the globe. The highly

edifying sessions and presentations were a major attraction of the event and

successfully covered the plentiful facets of the telecom industry.

The exhibition also highlighted the significant role of fixed mobile

convergence (FMC) in integration of landline and wireless technologies to create

a single telecommunication network foundation in India.

All in all, the event offered a great opportunity for technology providers,

service providers, telecom equipment vendors, and other industry experts in

terms of sharing thoughts, exchanging business ideas, and maintaining customer

relations. Hopefully, the junction would help India take an enormous leap in the

field of information and communication technologies.

Jatinder Singh



jatinders@cybermedia.co.in