'We want to be a global leader' - Shailendra Kumar Gupta, chairman & managing director, VSNL

Videsh Sanchar

Nigam Ltd (VSNL) is at the threshold of a brave new world. With

deregulation lurking around the corner, the PSU is rethinking

its business philosophy to take on the competition with renewed

jest. Shailendra Kumar Gupta, chairman and managing director,

VSNL encapsulates his vision and strategies for the company

he heads in an interview with MT Jeevan.

How does

VSNL plan to become a dominant player in today's deregulated

era? What would be your marketing strategy vis-à-vis

mega carriers like AT&T?



As in any other competitive market, the survival of a company
hinges solely on one factor: quality of service. We are going

all out to ensure this to our customers. And of course, affordable

pricing as well. And I have no doubt that our quality of service

is better than anybody else's. This is going to be the major

emphasis for VSNL is the years to come and this, I believe,

will keep us afloat and ahead of



others.

After

having enjoyed the finer points of protection since inception,

do you think that this is going to be a smooth transition for

VSNL?



By no means, am I trying to tell you that this is going to be
a cakewalk for us. Of course, this is going to be traumatic.

After being wrapped up in a protectionist shell for a long time,

we are going to face a scenario wherein market forces call the

shots. This definitely demands much more and I believe that

we have enough leeway to prepare for such an eventuality.

The whole

Indian communications market is valued at $50 billion, which

is one tenth of the total revenues of AT&T. Do you not feel

that these companies can capture the market share with competitive

pricing and intensive marketing strategies?



We will cross that bridge, when we reach that bridge. But

let me repeat, our quality of service is our trump card.

What

are your top three priorities after having taken over the reins

of VSNL?



The first and foremost surely is improving our infrastructure
and meeting future bandwidth requirements. The second would

be providing customer-oriented services. Last but not the least

is a slew of welfare measures for our employees.

What

happened to your proposed wholly owned subsidiary VSNL Seamless

Services?



This proposed new entity has already been approved by the last
AGM. We are planning to shift our value added services like

electronic data interchange, e-commerce, etc., to this new company.



The details like structure and management of VSNL Seamless Services
are still being worked out and we plan to float this company

by the first half of the next year.

With

domestic long distance services slated to be opened for the

private sector, what are VSNL's plans for this arena?



We are looking at this segment.

Are you

planning to enter this area as a service provider or will you

lease out your spare network to private operators providing

domestic long distance phone service?



I would say, a combination of both. We might enter this segment
as a service provider or lease out our network.

VSNL

has made considerable investments in satellite mobile systems

like Iridium and ICO. With ICO following suite to Iridium, do

you think that this project would yield returns to your company?



When the decision of investing in these projects was made, no
one could foresee such a turn in the tides. When the whole idea

was mooted, it made economic sense. Now the scenario has changed.

But, we will try to keep our country's interests alive in these

projects.

Which

are growth areas outlined by VSNL?



Internet, international telephony, leased circuits, xDSL, ATM
and IP-based services.

What

about VoIP?



I would not like to comment on this at this point of time. A
common man does not understand the difference between Internet

telephony and telephony using Internet protocol. That's why

I avoid this question when talking to the press. We will be

in a position to talk about when regulatory clearances are in

place.

What

are you planning to offer in terms of e-commerce?



We are working together with MTNL and DoT to address the issue
of authentication. As for other details, we will come out with

other services when the market is ripe for this.

International

accounting rates are dropping the world over. How is this going

to affect VSNL?



This is crucial issue, which is going to affect the country
as a whole. I would not like to differentiate between VSNL and

Government of India. Of course, we are aware of this and we

are concerned about this as anyone else.

Network

cost is the biggest cost component for VSNL. How do you plan

to tackle this issue?



We have made remarkable progress on this front over the last
few years through better planning and improving our network

efficiencies. We expect to bring down the cost of service as

demand increases. VSNL's cost to consumers, except for the US

and Canada, is at par with that of the other global players.

What

is the status of VSNL's "Oasis Project", which envisages

to establish your company as carrier's carrier?



I have been hearing about this project for quite some time now,
much before I entered VSNL. I do not consider this as a life

project for us.

Do you

plan to come out with a GDR issue in the near future?



No. Our holding is already whittled down to 52.97 percent now.
If we want to retain at least 51 percent stake, there is hardly

1.5 percent left. We might come out with an issue for this.

But again, I think this is too small an issue to come out with.

Of late,

private ISPs are lamenting about the lack of bandwidth from

VSNL. Your comments.



That's an unfair allegation. Some of the ISPs avail of certain
amount of bandwidth from us and try to pump in too much traffic

into this restricted bandwidth and then cry wolf. This is taking

a toll on their quality of service and this is what sets apart

VSNL from the rest of the ISPs. We are in a position to meet

the bandwidth requirements of private ISPs. If they need it,

they will get it.

There

is a huge demand from data as compared to voice. Are you poised

to meet this new scenario?



I do agree that there an exponential growth in the demand for
data. We are augmenting our bandwidth capabilities taking into

account the manifold increase in data traffic.

Finally,

what is your vision for VSNL?



You see, we are going to face competitions from two quarters-competitors
and fast changing technologies. We are trying out best to keep

pace with the technologies coming up in the world. As for vision,

we want to be the global leader in our field. Of course, we

will try our best to realize this vision and pray to God to

help us achieve this!!!