Telecommunications in India: The road ahead

Two events that have captured much of telecommunication news in the recent times are the 3G auctions and the susceptibility of Indian networks to foreign vendor equipment, especially those with malicious intent.

India represents perhaps the fastest growing telecom market, especially from the mobile perspective. A cause for severe concern which can lead to an information divide is the lack of high-speed broadband connectivity to end-users, especially in the residential broadband space.

With less than 10 per cent broadband penetration, the question one asks is: what does India do to solve the broadband problem.

This question requires further examination in light of the recent 3G auctions and vendor issues. In fact, the solution to the information divide and broadband penetration lies in the intelligent technology choices that would facilitate building up the telecommunication infrastructure and communication landscape in the country.

To solve this problem, there is a serious need for reprioritization. We have to think long term and from a perspective that is in the interest of the country, business, citizens and the government.

The need of the hour is to encourage practical and applicable research, innovation and production of battle-hardened telecommunication equipment that can stand the world onslaught from established vendors.

Indigenisation of telecommunication equipment is perhaps the second most important aspect of indigenisation that the country must indulge in, just after defence, given the impact that information and communication networks and systems would have on the growth of the country.

The question one asks is what are the technologies that we should be investing in? Should we follow and imbibe on products that are developed in other countries or should we begin an endeavour to support home-grown innovation. The answer lies in understanding the business opportunity of telecommunications in India.

The growth potential of telecom and the business opportunity that this segment provides combined with the threat of assimilating foreign gear have a strong implication on the way our country has to gear up for the telecom sector.

The telecom industry has to play a thought leadership role in using ICT for the common man, in being able to streamline, scale and provide e-governance, e-trading and e-commerce to a larger section of society.

Tough decisions need to be taken that empower the country into the next generation of communication methodologies. India represents a huge and unique market - the size implies a strong business case, while the uniqueness implies the need for indigenous products.

Together, we have a huge opportunity to let our telecom industry grow. We have to examine what the government and Trai can do to make this a success. Likewise, we have to consider the role of service providers and how they can be helped to move forward in rolling services and empowering citizens with broadband while still meeting their bottom-lines. Issues such as consolidation need to be addressed in this discussion.

To complete the telecom trial, along with the government and providers, we must also encourage vendors and vendor manifested technology, especially those technology choices that suit India the most. The discussion must focus on moving away from just a service offering based business, to a next generation technology business with a big dividend.

The author is with the Dept. of Computer Science, IIT Bombay