Bangalore Session II: Marketing Challenges for New Geographies and New Technologies

Balesh
Sharma: The challenge is in usage of technology by the common man and
creating relevance for new set of subscribers. Service providers should be aware
about the needs of each set of customer for different geographies and then
develop applications that can cater to their need. And lastly, focus should be
on simplifying technology by creating awareness among masses.

Robert Lewis: Our biggest challenge is to keep an eye on the market
and identify where we need to improve our R&D to provide next generation
technology. So our biggest challenge is to bring technology and add value per
dollar spend so that the Indian market can afford.

(L-R) Robert Lewis, MD, (Asia Pacific), Belden CDT; Henry Gilchrist, director (business devp. & mktg.), Elcoteq; Ibrahim Ahmad, editor, Voice&Data Shubhendu Ghosh, GM (devp.), BSNL (Bangalore); Balesh Sharma, head (sales & mktg.) Hutch Essar South

Shubhendu Ghosh: The basic issue is we have a digital divide in the
country and the question is how do we eliminate it. If you know that majority of
revenues are going to come from semi-urban and rural areas so why are service
providers are not designating key account managers. If you feel that these
segments can give volumes there one has to focus on that segment.

Henry Gilchrist: Technology roadmap is not changing dramatically so it
depends on how applications are being used by different set of users. A
commercial user and a social user will look at functionalities in a different
way and so the need for education.