Alcatel to Focus on IN and Broadband in India

Alcatel plans to focus on IN and broadband and target private operators more. This was revealed by Avinash Kale, area vice president, Indian subcontinent (telecom sector), Alcatel. The company recently participated in BSNL tender for a nationwide implementation of IN services. In the first phase, BSNL plans to deploy one million lines capacity in all the four regions. In order to meet IN requirements of the Indian market, the company is planning to do project implementation from the Gurgaon software development center and also provide after sales support. The India software division will focus on switching and IN products. There has been a change in positioning and the company is now planning to focus its wireline switching activities from China and India software development center. The company is also planning to increase its headcount in India software development center, according to Avinash Kale. The company is also in discussion with Reliance for IN range of products.

The IN market in India is estimated at around US $10 to 15 million in 2003 and is expected to grow at around 40-50 percent every year. 

On the broadband front, Avinash feels that there has not been much work done in India despite BSNL having a huge network of 40 million subscribers. It was only recently that a field trial was done by BSNL and MTNL. The promotion of broadband products will start in India after the pilot is successful says Avinash. Alcatel has successfully implemented 6,000 port network in Sri Lanka. The company is working on a partnership concept and is in discussion with 2-3 companies for their broadband range of products. According to Avinash Kale, the Indian broadband market is estimated at US $100 million by 2005-06 which includes ADSL, Gigabit Ethernet, and satellite based broadband applications. 

On the space business, the company is looking at quick finalization of the Agrani funding which is led by IDBI and has ICICI and SBI as it partners and is waiting for financial closure. Speaking about Agrani project, Pierre de Bayser, senior VP (marketing & sales), Alcatel Space said, "Agrani is a common baby so we want to make it a success". On the handset front, the company plans to increase its market share and is planning to further focus on distribution channel. It also plans to launch new handset models. 

Speaking about the Indian market, Gerard Dega, executive vice president, Alcatel EMAI said, "The market is difficult and frustrating as it is huge and there is aggressive competition among players. The customers here are very demanding as they know how to get maximum from their suppliers." 

Alcatel India has invested around US $100 million in India. The company has been netting a turnover of US $200 million from last two-three years of which around 50 percent are through Alcatel India whereas the rest is done directly through Alcatel. 

Pravin Prashant