"Our focus in 2003 is on IN and broadband"

What’s your focus in FY 2002—03?

In this fiscal, the focus is on broadband and IN services. We are also
focusing on the private operators. Recently, the company has participated in
BSNL tender for a nationwide implementation of IN services.

In the first phase, BSNL plans to deploy 1 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.

For IN, the company is also in discussion with Reliance Infocomm.

You have been doing very well on broadband front. What are your India
plans?

On the broadband front, not much work has been done in India. BSNL has a
huge network of 40 million subscribers and there is no reason why they should
not implement ADSL. A field trial done by BSNL has started and another field
trial by MTNL will start soon. The promotion of broadband products will start in
India after the pilot is successful. In the Indian subcontinent, Alcatel has
been successful in Sri Lanka where it is offering 6,000-port network. The
company would like to duplicate in India what they have implemented in Sri
Lanka.

The company is working on a partnership concept and is in discussion with two
to three companies for their broadband range of products.

What is the size of the IN market in India and how is the market growing?

The IN market in India is estimated at around $10—15 million in 2003 and
the growth rate is expected at around 40—50 percent every year.

Alcatel India has not been successful on the GSM handset front? What are
your strategies for the handset market?

In the handset market, we are not among the top 5, but we have not given up
and are reworking on our distribution strategy.

We are also planning to launch new-generation handsets in the Indian market
and will focus on entry- and middle-level handsets for the Indian market.

What activities have been planned for the India software development
center?

There has been a change in the overall positioning of the software
development center and the company is now planning to focus its wireline
switching activities from China and India centers only. The India software
center will primarily focus on switching and IN products. The Gurgaon center
will focus on the IN product platform as well as cater to project-specific
requirements in different countries. The company is also planning to increase
its headcount at the software development center.

Pravin Prashant