The third year in succession, Indian Telecom 2008, a joint venture of
Department of Telecommunication (Dot), government of India in association with
the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) will again
offer lots of excitement and opportunities for the entire telecom ecosystem. The
theme: Indian Telecom 2008-Connecting Rural India. The event is to be held in
New Delhi from 11-13 December.
The event provides a platform for interactive sessions between the
government, policy makers, industrial leaders, academia and potential investors
to interact and share their valuable ideas. The event will mainly focus on the
networking opportunities through exchange of ideas leading to future business
alliances and deals.
It will provide opportunities to learn about best practices, share global
experiences and showcase state-of-the-art technologies. Service provider,
network infrastructure manufacturers, handsets manufacturers, content providers
and accessory manufacturers are the main participants of the event. It will also
offer the participants with business interest in the region unparalleled
opportunities to meet business prospective clients. The exhibition and
conference will also highlight technology development for the future
manufacturers of telecom equipments so as to make India a hub for them to meet
the growing domestic demand as well as an exporting base.
The second edition of Indian Telecom 2007 was a huge success and received
tremendous response from exhibitors participants as well as the business
visitors. The event incorporates an open house and valedictory session with
senior officials from DoT and Trai on policy and regulatory issues.
Curtain-raising Ceremony Indian Telecom 2008 |
Apart from the open house session, the event will comprise five more sessions
with different themes, focusing on hot topics in the telecom space. Economic and
social development in rural India, innovative technologies for growth in rural
areas, right mix of strategy for affordable, accessible and reliable
communication with sustainable growth, broadband for all, implementing WiMax in
the industry, strategies and new business approaches, value added service and
content management and regulatory and policy environment.
The event will be held at the time when the entire telecom fraternity is
looking at rural India as their next destination. Also, the provision of telecom
facilities in rural areas is high priority for the government. Rural India holds
the key to sustainable growth in the telecom industry. The rural hinterland
comprises 6,00,000 villages with around 809 mn population, which is bigger than
the total urban population of 338 mn. The current tele density in rural areas is
about 10% and there is huge potential to grow.
Public-private partnership is necessary to resolve the connectivity
predicament faced by 70% of the population living in the rural areas. Also, the
government of India has set an ambitious target of providing 200 mn rural
telephone connections and a rural tele density of 25% by 2012.To increase the
rural penetration, about 18,000 towers are to be installed additionally.
Also, USOF-supported infrastructure will enable aggressive penetration of
rural broadband. These are some for the specific requirements and the targets of
the telecom industry and government. Indian Telecom 2008 will discuss all these
issue and provide a platform to the entire telecom fraternity to share their
views, plans and experiences. The event is getting phenomenal response from the
Indian telecom industry and is expected to be a huge success will give boost to
the telecom sector in India.
Arpita Prem
arpitap@cybermedia.co.in