At an ISP Summit held in New Delhi,
technology giants Microsoft, Compaq, Intel, Cisco and Loral Orion unveiled
their suite of offerings for Indian Internet providers.
Through this joint initiative–dubbed “Team Internet”–the five are
positioning themselves as a single-point source for the system needs of
providers.
The synergy between these players will be key to improving the quality of
Internet service in India and making the country “an IT superpower in the
21st century,” said N. Parameswaran, deputy director general of India’s
Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
The ISP summit was attended by more than a hundred potential ISPs; Licenses
for 21 private ISPs have already been issued since India’s ISP market was
opened to the private sector early in November.
Solutions demonstrated at the ISP summit included billing systems from
Bangalore based Microland and electronic payment services from CitiBank.
The move by the IT giants is expected to boost sales of their offerings
like Microsoft Commercial Internet System 2.0, Compaq servers, Cisco
routers and Loral Orion backbone gateways. Analysts expect the ISP vendor
market in India to be worth about $90 million in the next few years.
Sanjay Mirchandani, managing director of Microsoft India, said ISPs in
India should help usher in the “Web lifestyle.” Shobhit Dubey of Intel said
the team would work together to target the ISP market. Team members would
be given preference in ISP accounts handled by other members.
Other speakers included Mark Gilroy, vice president of Loral Orion (Asia
Pacific), and Kallol Hazra, industry marketing manager of Compaq India.
In addition to the largest ISP player, Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (VSNL),
another government agency–Mumbai and Delhi telecom provider Mahanagar
Telephone Nigam Ltd. (MTNL)–is planning aggressive moves in the ISP
market.
The telecom intends to have Internet services up and running by Jan. 26,
1999
(India’s Republic Day), according to managing director S. Rajagopalan, who
spoke at a seminar in Bombay. MTNL will also provide its telephone
directory online and an online payment system for phone bills.
ISP Satyam Infoway, the first private sector player, will finalize access
deals with cable TV operators and PC manufacturers early next year,
according to R. Ramaraj, managing director.
Satyam has launched two automobile sector sites to cash in on the
e-commerce market: Automeet.com (targeted at the automobile and car parts
industry) and Carstreet.com (for car purchases and finance).
State governments in India are also clambering onto the Internet bandwagon.
The Kerala government’s Advisory Council on Information Technology recently
unveiled a set of 15 recommendations to make the
state “intelligent” in the next 1,000 days via measures like telemedicine
and the Internet connectivity of schools.
Regulatory issues still needing resolution include Internet telephony and
the use of very small aperture terminals (VSATs) for ISP links.
The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) will
be organizing a national convention on telecommunications in New Delhi
early in December to deal with such issues.
Elsewhere in India, John Davies, vice-president and general manager of
Intel Asia Pacific, expressed his optimism that following the ISP policy,
a regulatory framework conducive to the growth of the country’s e-commerce
industry would soon be unveiled.
Online banking services have already been unveiled by ICICI Bank and
CitiBank India.
Intel’s venture capital fund – a third of which will soon be targeted at
Asian companies – has apparently shortlisted about six Indian companies for
possible equity investments. Speaking in Chennai, Atul Vijaykar, Intel
director for South Asia, said approvals would be announced early next year.
The growing list of ISP players in India now includes Reliance, Bharti BT,
Koshika, Ortel, Rolta, RPG Sprint, Wipro, Global Electronic Commerce
Services, SNC Infotech, Survin, Sukhkarta Financial Services, Datapro and
Crompton Greaves.
Cities now covered by ISPs include Surat, Thiruvananthapuram, Satara,
Jaipur, Bhubaneswar, Bareilly, Delhi, Vadodara, Durgapur, Karnal,
Ahmedabad, Pune, Hyderabad, Patna and Rajkot.
India’s 500,000 Internet user base is expected to triple next year
thanks to the lifting of the ISP monopoly.
