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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.
Why should an ISP select Digital to implement its network?
Jeevan:
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.
How soon can an ISP network be put up?
Jeevan:
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.
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Any solutions for the carrier? COLOR="#094891">
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| Jeevan Kumaran |
Jeevan:
world’s largest Internet exchange. The Altavista experience is behind us.
too. Our own intranet.
What are the major needs of ISPs in South-East Asia?
Jeevan:
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.
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What kind of cable is that? COLOR="#094891">
Jeevan:
You use a cable modem to access the Web through the cables that transmit television
signals.
Are Indian cable TV companies capable of it?
Jeevan:
and determine whether it is capable or not. This is one of the services that we provide.
| Nikhil |
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Nikhil:
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?
Jeevan:
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.
Presently in India, accessing Internet is painfully slow.
Do we require a dedicated local loop for Internet to ease the congestion?
Nikhil:
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:
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.
Jeevan:
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.
Is the international bandwidth that VSNL is having enough
to sustain the privatization of Internet?
Nikhil:
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:
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 ...
Nikhil:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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?
Jeevan:
percentage, would be 35 percent on infrastructure, 35 percent on bandwidth, and the rest
on things like help desk, marketing, and office space.
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Can private ISPs succeed while competing with monopolies?
Nikhil:
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.
But they have the money and infrastructure to do so ...
Jeevan:
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!