Broadband Festival can add spark to celebration

India is set to celebrate 10 mn broadband user mark this fiscal. It is indeed time for Indian operators to kick off a celebration. The festival season can be the best platform to slash fixed broadband prices. The reduction can be in the range of 30-50%.

A 50% reduction in tariff will reduce the time being taken for adding the next 10 mn subscribers. It's the right time since fixed broadband will face competition from 3G-WiMax which is slated to be available from private players early next year.

Government should offer subsidy to private telcos and PC makers to step up broadband penetration. Let India get some FDI for PC making through special packages. Broadband is the lifeline of the economy. It has to be promoted to ensure 100% penetration in the country. Let us ensure 10% GDP growth through a stable ICT-driven economy.

India is considered as one of the growing emerging markets. According to Ovum, broadband users in emerging markets pay up to three times more than their mature market counterparts despite earning the lowest wages. India has one of the lowest mobile tariffs. Why can not we offer the lowest broadband tariffs in the world? We need to encourage operators.

Globally, competition from mobile broadband services contributed to the pressure on fixed broadband tariffs. India will have a different story to tell. All the fixed broadband operators will have 3G offerings and there will be no competition. But Reliance or Bharti will face the music from RIL, and new players when they enter 3G through MVNO model.

The UK market has taken the lead in reducing the prices. In London, the average price for a fixed broadband service bundle has declined by about EUR5 during the fourth quarter of 2009 and the second quarter of 2010 to EUR40.7 per month, according to Analysys Mason.

Can we see domestic operators offering free broadband access in top cities to start with? When we travel outside, many airports in matured markets offer free broadband access to travelers. Will Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications start offering free unlimited broadband connection to Delhi airport users? The spacious Terminal 3 will be the right place.

If the price reduction is coming with a substantial increase in speed, it will be a double bonanza for Indian broadband consumers. Currently, the speed does not thrill, but kills the user's patience. I do not want to give a definition to speed. Consumer should be satisfied when she/he downloads/uploads. We do not want to treat our eyes when we wait for something to open up. We are already paying huge money for low speed connectivity. We have seen some of the operators talking about increased speed, but they come for a price. We want uniform speed for all schemes. Let us speeden up things to connect us better.

Baburajan K

baburajank@cybermedia.co.in