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'The Issue Is Internal Bandwidth, Not International Gateway' - Digital Equipment's Asia-Pacific marketing manager for Internet Service Providers (ISPs), Jeevan Kumaran

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VoicenData Bureau
New Update

Digital Equipment's Asia-Pacific marketing manager for

Internet Service Providers (ISPs), Jeevan Kumaran, has been in the forefront of

implementing and maintaining ISP networks across Asia-Pacific. During his recent

visit to India, he met various members of Digital’s ISP team in India. In a

freewheeling interview with Nareshchandra Laishram, Jeevan and Nikhil Karan

Taneja
, associate consultant, ISPs, Digital Equipment India, reveal some popular myths

while outlining the patterns likely to appear in tomorrow’s exciting Indian ISP

market.

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Why should an ISP select Digital to implement its network? SIZE="2" COLOR="#094891">

Jeevan: SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> We have about 200 ISP clients world-wide.

Talking of South-East Asia, most of the major ISPs in this region are our customers. The

reason of our success is that we do not sell boxes only. We have a highly skilful team

backed with experiences across the world. And that is the value-add that we would bring to

our ISP clients in India.

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How soon can an ISP network be put up? SIZE="2" COLOR="#094891">

Jeevan: face="Times New Roman"> Many of the ISPs in Asia to whom we

provide turnkey solutions
have a tight schedule. There was an

ISP which wanted to be operational in three months. We were able to do that. Another

wanted to go on-line within a month. And we did that too.
COLOR="#d90000">

Any solutions for the carrier? COLOR="#094891">

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alt="https://img-cdn.thepublive.com/filters:format(webp)/vnd/media/post_attachments/f9736504e5eee0ef8813d9deb10f8fecec481f6d3f3f9587a394f93f2e844396.gif (13924 bytes)">
Jeevan Kumaran

Jeevan: face="Times New Roman"> At Palo Alto in the US, we have the

world’s largest Internet exchange. The Altavista experience is behind us.
SIZE="2"> And we maintain one of the largest and earliest intranets in the world

too. Our own intranet.

What are the major needs of ISPs in South-East Asia? SIZE="2" COLOR="#094891">

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Jeevan: SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> If you look at the developed markets,

ISPs there started with providing basic access–now widely available and marketed. Now

they are moving onto providing more value-added services, video over the Net, voice over

the Net, E-commerce, VPNs ... ISPs are also getting into things like Internet over cable.

We are working with Cable Vision, a major company in Singapore, to implement Internet

access over cable. That is a major growth area for us. COLOR="#d90000">

What kind of cable is that? COLOR="#094891">

Jeevan: SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> The cables used by cable TV companies.

You use a cable modem to access the Web through the cables that transmit television

signals.

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Are Indian cable TV companies capable of it? SIZE="2" COLOR="#094891">

Jeevan: SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> It depends. We can take a look at a cable

and determine whether it is capable or not. This is one of the services that we provide. SIZE="2" COLOR="#094891">

height="176" alt="https://img-cdn.thepublive.com/filters:format(webp)/vnd/media/post_attachments/c769a23c3708b125756ca8eebf82fc962df5590b228b75557ab3e44325e5972f.gif (15209 bytes)">



Nikhil

Karan Taneja
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Nikhil: SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> I think in the metros we have that kind

of cables. With the number of channels that they support, they have to use such cables. In

Mumbai, the Hindujas are very keen on providing Internet over cable. In Delhi too, we are

trying to rope in the Modi Entertainment Network.

Will Indian homes take cable modems to receive Internet? SIZE="2" COLOR="#094891">

Jeevan: SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> Like in any services, most probably here

too, you will have the ISPs bundle cable modems to encourage users to take Internet

services. You have already seen that happening among cellular companies. SIZE="2" COLOR="#d90000">

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Presently in India, accessing Internet is painfully slow.

Do we require a dedicated local loop for Internet to ease the congestion?
SIZE="2" COLOR="#094891">

Nikhil: SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> Not necessary. If you look at MTNL, the

infrastructure is already there. So, what it needs to do is simply put Remote Access

Servers (RASs) in the various Point Of Presences (POPs) it is planning to have. No

separate infrastructure is required.

But are there enough lines? The demand for telephone lines

is bound to go up ...

Nikhil: SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> Yes, there will be lot of demand for

lines. Even if you take the ratio of 1:16 that VSNL claims, VSNL themselves is short of

lines. Its best service is in Mumbai, where it has its own exchanges and infrastructure.

With private basic services starting, however, the congestion will ease up. SIZE="2" COLOR="#094891">

Jeevan: SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> The problem is not only with the

availability of lines. The telephone lines need to deliver better throughput and for that,

better quality lines are needed. It may also not only be a problem with the quality of

lines itself, but with how you maintain the existing dial-up lines. SIZE="2" COLOR="#d90000">

Is the international bandwidth that VSNL is having enough

to sustain the privatization of Internet?

Nikhil: SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> As far as external gateway bandwidth is

concerned, the 40 Mbps bandwidth that VSNL has is not that hot an issue as of the day. The

issue is the internal bandwidth. The internal network. DoT is coming up with the National

Information Backbone (NIB) project. The first phase of it is intended to start sometime

around December.

What does the first phase of NIB involve? What is the

network going to be like?

Nikhil: SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> That is going to be a high-speed network

connecting 14 cities across the country. It is something like 622 Mbps kind of a network.

DoT already have the fibre in place. So what it needs to do is to have a switch-based

network.

So it is an internal problem ... SIZE="2" COLOR="#094891">

Nikhil: SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> Yes, internal. We just have 35,000

subscribers sitting on 40 Mbps of bandwidth which is going out of India. Singapore is

having just 8 Mbps. And, in fact, at one time, Singapore had one lakh subscribers sitting

on 2 Mbps. It is the internal network. If I am a subscriber in Chandigarh, the bottleneck

is the leased line between Chandigarh and Delhi.

Jeevan: SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> Actually, there are two bottlenecks here.

One is the internal network and the other is the dial-up. Often there are blockings in the

dial-up. In comparison to the number of modems, there are not enough lines. Generally, the

world standards are 1:10 or 1:15. For every 10 subscribers you need to have one line. But,

I do not think VSNL has even 1:20. I do not think it is going to be a problem with MTNL or

DoT. They have the lines in place. It is always going to be a problem with other ISPs,

buying those lines from them.

In such a situation, how is the private ISP going to do

business?

Nikhil: SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> This is the bad part of telecommunication

in India. The inter-departmental issues. These were a hindrance in the cellular service.

And are likely to come as obstacles in the ISP services also. Look at what is happening to

the E-mail service providers and VSAT service providers. They are about to close their

shops. And now there is a tiff between TRAI and DoT. Who is going to resolve that. These

are the issues.

What are the regulatory norms in Singapore like? And what

role does the Government play?

Jeevan: SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> Well, in the Singapore market there are

three ISPs. But, at the moment, there are two other players. Singapore Cable Vision which

is providing Internet access through cable and Singapore Telecom which provides Internet

over normal telephone lines using ADSL technology. The government plays a minimal role.

They only take licence fees. There is control on content though. The Singapore

Broadcasting Authority is the regulator. And if it thinks that a particular site is not

suitable, then the ISP has to block it.

What are the methods that can be used to block a

particular content?

Jeevan: SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> It is very difficult to block two people

using Internet. Among the various packets that travel, you cannot really tell which is

voice which is data.

What kind of investment must the ISP put in? SIZE="2" COLOR="#094891">

Jeevan: SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> Roughly the expenditure, in terms of

percentage, would be 35 percent on infrastructure, 35 percent on bandwidth, and the rest

on things like help desk, marketing, and office space. COLOR="#d90000">

Can private ISPs succeed while competing with monopolies? SIZE="2" COLOR="#094891">

Nikhil: SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> By ensuring that international traffic

flows through DIAS, which is DoT’s upcoming gateway, and GIAS, VSNL’s gateway,

the government has ensured some revenue for itself. But, I do not think these monopolies

will be able to match the quality of service that private ISPs will offer. SIZE="2" COLOR="#d90000">

But they have the money and infrastructure to do so ... SIZE="2" COLOR="#094891">

Jeevan: face="Times New Roman"> It is not that they cannot. It is

just that different players specialize in different areas. You cannot have one ISP that is

good in everything. The market is going to be segmented. It is like the car market in

India. Initially you had one or two models, but now there are different models for

different segments. The same thing is going to happen in Internet too. You will have

different kind of Internet packages. And yes, you might have a player pumping in almost

free service without much innovations!
 

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