'India will be one of the early adaptors of TD-LTE'

According to recent reports, customers in emerging countries pay more for broadband access. Will Indian operators bring down the tariff? Which are the factors that will influence a price revision in the near future?

The broadband and Internet penetrations in India are amongst the lowest in the world. This probably is the only service (internet access) for which ARPUs have gone up, as per TRAI numbers. It is driven more from the fact that the usage per subscriber has gone up rather than the rates. Looking at the fact that all operators who have won 3G spectrum have paid huge sums of money, the likelihood of tariffs going low sharply in the near future for the broadband access is very minimal, however, the volume permitted within the same tariffs would probably go up (which is equivalent of tariff going down if we see the cost of accessing per MB data).

The other major factor that would impact tariffs would be the penetration level of 3G handsets and the type of handsets being used in the market. In 3G networks the network capacity is determined not only by what is deployed by the operator but also by the kind of service that is being used by customers, and the type of handset they are using. These are market driven factors from an Indian standpoint as there is no concept of handset bundling in India. In the Indian society scale of prospective subscriber base is unique, as much as Indian Subscriber Purchasing Power (PP) and affordability. Indian consumer interest for access to Internet for different applications at high speeds such as BB is going to be entirely different.

There is another interesting change likely to happen going forward. The current pattern of tariffing where we have variable rate on voice and flat rate on data (mainly on fixed network) would soon move into a flat regime on voice and a variable rate on data. This would be a truly revolutionary change that the Indian market is likely to see with mobile data becoming big.

Currently the debate is on selecting technologies such as TD-LTE and WiMax for BWA launches. Which is the best technology for India considering the current market conditions?

If we see WiMaX and TD-LTE from the technological superiority perspective, they might be of similar levels with both camps claiming pros and cons over the other. However, the fact remains that LTE maturity could be faster than expected as it is being supported by all 2G and 3G telecom operators and large equipment suppliers.

Clearly TD-LTE stands apart in terms of the choice of technology. There is a lot of traction of TD LTE in China and in Japan and if India and China adopt this as the technology, the worldwide volumes are then a foregone conclusion. Also since it is a logical extension of the current 3G technology with a fall back option on to the deployed 3G/GSM network, it makes the subscriber experience that much more seamless. In our view, HSPA+ would have much better chance of adoption by Indian Telcos. Wireless high speed data services are likely to flourish only if a range of BWA devices are available in the market at most affordable price levels for prospective price sensitive Indian consumers .

I feel, TD-LTE shall prevail and, we might see for the first time India being one of the early adaptors of a new technology.

Customers are complaining about poor broadband speeds. How can operators tackle such issues?

Factors like subscriber density per sq km; concrete density per sq km; back haul bandwidth per km; International Internet bandwidth availability; spectrum holding by telcos, local hosting of popular web portals and social networking sites and regulatory norms like contention/over subscription ratio determine the level of speeds at which subscribers can access the services.

With 3G spectrum available and on top of that TD LTE available for the very high volume/high speed customers, the access side (the wireless portion) could be well taken care off. Factors like Internet bandwidth should also not be a major issue for players like Reliance, Tata and Bharti who have large bandwidth on international sea cable routes. The biggest challenge would be the back haul domestically. This would mean a lot of fiberization and the cost needs to be justified. While Reliance has the advantage of huge domestic fiber network not all operators are as comfortably placed.

Potential Indian BB subscribers would experience better speed based services as the Telcos are taking cognizance of our deployment scenario, market demand, and subscriber applications interest, and are set to evolve different quality of service (QoS) and quality of experience (QoE) packages.

What are your3G plans?

Reliance communications has always been an innovative services and pioneering role based player with focus on wireless data service delivery through CDMA 1X and CDMA high speed Net connect+ services. Reliance is committed to rolling out HSPA based 3G services with impact creating applications and service delivery and thus would continue to be a pioneer even in 3G.

Customers believe they pay more money since all operators, including Reliance Communications, make false claims through bills. How is Reliance Communications going to tackle this issue?

Telecom services are being delivered at the lower tariff levels compared to anywhere else in the world, at one paise... At these levels of tariffs, is it physically possible for any operator to tweak billings to make false claims? Indian subscribers are the most benefited segment due to intense competition in the marketplace. The area where people feel duped is paying for services they do not use, mostly in the VAS domain. With the kind of TRAI policy of having to have a confirmed consent before activating any VAS services and a very easy to deactivate methodology as a mandate, this has been controlled to a very large extent, and we would see the customer perception on this changing very fast.

Operators believe in adding subscribers by selling free SIM cards. The subscriber base, both mobile and broadband, reported by operators are not correct. Will this model sustain?

The Indian telecom industry is witnessing hyper-competition with around 12 -13 players eyeing for the customer in every circle. The consumer dynamics is also fast changing as he is customizing his calling needs to products available in the market. With talk time, VAS and other freebies bundled along with the SIM, the cost of the SIM becomes virtually zero.

The signs of consolidation are already beginning to be seen in the market, and in the not so very distant future we shall see a highly competitive market. but the number of players would be more established when the motivation is to not just show numbers but business performance. Secondly with the subscriber linked spectrum criteria off the table, the other motivation is also not applicable any more. The situation shall rapidly move towards a more transparent and effective number management regime which are more factual.

What will be the future on MNP in Indian telecom industry? Is Reliance Communications ready to start MNP?

MNP implementation in the Indian telecom industry is long awaited and would benefit the customers immensely . These customers who have been tied up with a particular operator will now have the freedom to choose their service providers of which RCOM is amongst the top operator of choice given the network superiority and other product superiority. RCOM is committed to the launch of MNP services in India as per the government's mandate.

Akanksha Singh
akankshas@cybermedia.co.in