Growth of Communication Sector
The Communication sector is amongst the fastest growing in the country. It work in all major markets around the world. Communication technology’s products and solutions are accepted globally. The first year of the new millennium has been a year of turbulence, tragedy, terrorism and slow-down in the world economy. The Indian Communication industry has weathered this storm well. It is indeed creditable that the industry and services in India has reasonably continued its robust growth in the year 2003-04
This sector has emerged as one of the fastest growing sectors in the economy
History of communication in India
A major reorganisation of the department took place in April, 1925. The accounts of the Indian Posts and Telegraphs were reconstituted to examine the true fiscal profile of the department. The attempt was to find out the extent to which the department was imposing a burden on the taxpayers or bringing in revenue to the Exchequer, how far each of the four constituent branches of the department, the postal, telegraph, telephone and wireless were contributing towards this result. It was further examined whether the rates charged from the public for the various services were inadequate or excessive.The Posts and Telegraphs, like all public and private undertakings, was a victim of the universal financial and economic depression which crashed on the world in 1930. During 1931, numerous economy measures had to be introduced according to the advice of the Posts and Telegraphs Sub-Committee to the Retrenchment Committee presided over by Sir Cowasjee Jehangir Jr. Naturally, the adoption of the various measures of retrenchment could not but have an adverse effect on the emoluments and interests of the personnel of the Department.
From the beginning, P&T set up was run on welfare lines. Profit was not the motto. The annual report of the department for 1931 said "It is the accepted policy of the Government that the department should be so administered that there should be neither any substantial profit nor any substantial loss on its working under normal conditions. As has already been indicated, the achievement of this ideal has not proved possible owing mainly to the exceptional economic and trade conditions of recent years. One of the main contributory causes was the revision and improvement of pay of the great bulk of the employees of the department in recent years. This was undertaken with the approval of and indeed under pressure by the Legislative Assembly. While the department is commonly spoken of as a 'commercial' one and though as far as possible it is guided by the commercial considerations in the regulation of its business, it must be realised that in many directions it is debarred from observing strict business principles. Many of the purposes which it is required to serve are unremunerative and notably, in matters relating to the employment and control of staff, the department is bound by a large volume of statutory and other rules, doubtless necessary for the regulation of a public service, but which in the aggregate involve many restrictions of a kind unknown to private commercial concerns.
After the implementation of the Federal Financial Integration Scheme of 1st April, 1950, the administration of the entire network of telegraph and telephone systems of the nation, including those that previously existing in the former princely states became a major adventure. In 1950 the number of Telephone Exchanges absorbed from princely states was 196. These systems which were working with different degrees of efficiency could fit into the general telecommunication network. The installed capacity of these 196 exchanges was 13,362 lines with 11,296 working connections. Soon after the absorption an attempt was made to improve their technical efficiency by replacing obsolete and unserviceable equipment and lending well-qualified and experienced staff. Simultaneously, isolated exchanges were integrated with the general pool. The more complicated task was acquisition of the staff. Their final absorption into the different cadres of service in Posts and Telegraphs was a major step.
FROM P&T TO DoT
Till 31st December, 1984, the postal, telegraph and telephone services were managed by the Posts and Telegraphs Department. In January 1985, two separate Departments for the Posts and the Telecommunications were created. The accounts of the department, initially, were maintained by the Accountant General of the P&T. However, by April 1972, the telecommunications accounts were separated. Simultaneously the department also started preparing the balance sheet annually. With the takeover of the accounts from the audit and delegation of larger financial powers to the field units, internal Financial Advisers were posted to all the circles and units.
Telecommunication
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Stellar growth in cellular subscriber base
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In June 2005, new basic services (fixed and WLL) connections showed a rise of 16.20% to 6.67 lakh over the corresponding month of the previous year (10.38%). In the first quarter of the current financial year, new connections showed a decline of 25.35% to 10.19 lakh over the corresponding period of previous year. The outstanding connections in June 2005 were 583.66 lakh, which showed a rise of 12.65% over the corresponding month of the previous year, when they showed a rise of 18.97% to 518.13 lakh.
In June 2005, the new switching capacity showed a rise of 109.9% to 6.15 lakh over the corresponding month of the previous year (318.57%). In April-June 2005, the new switching capacity showed a decline of 3.68% to 11.24 lakh over the corresponding period of the previous year. With this addition, the tele-density has increased from 7.49% in June 2004 to 9.37% in June 2005.
In June 2005, the new cellular subscribers showed a rise of 49.04% to 15.73 lakh over the corresponding month of the previous year. In the current financial year till June 2005, the new cellular subscribers showed a rise of 27.65% to 38.94 lakh, which was 23.95% in the corresponding period of the previous year.
The total outstanding cellular subscribers in June 2005 showed a rise of 53.81% to 449.20 lakh over the corresponding month of the previous year (92.79%). Bharti Tele-Ventures had the highest market share in the all-India GSM cell subscriber base, followed by BSNL and Hutch.
The total additional phones in the first quarter were 51.71 lakh. But due to the negative growth in basic phones, the net addition was only 49.13 lakh. In the first quarter of the current financial year, the private sector played a major role in expansion; it contributed around 86% of the total additions.
In the rural areas, only BSNL has provided direct exchange lines and village public telephones (VPTs) BSNL provided 80,928 telephones in April-June of 2005-06. about 1,182 VPTs were also provided by BSNL in the past three months. The cellular customer base of BSNL and MTNL has expanded to about 102 lakh and 11 lakh, respectively.
To boost their subscriber base, direct commercial international GSM roaming was launched by BSNL and MTNL with four networks in Hong Kong, Thailand and Turkey. GSM international roaming agreement was signed with nine GSM operators from Hong Kong, Indonesia, Congo, Kuwait, Uzbekistan, Guyana, Denmark and Bahrain.
Market Capitalisation
The market capitalisation of the telecom industry showed a rise of 23.16% over the month to Rs. 85101.59 crore as on 29 July 2005. In July 2005, the share prices of telecom sector companies showed an upward trend, except three companies. The highest gainer in this month, was ITI, which showed a rise of 83.08% over the month, followed by Videsh Sanchar Nigam, which rose 80.16%. Bharti Tele-Ventures, which has the highest market capitalisation, showed a rise of 16.36% over the month.
In the three months ended 30 June 2005, the market capitalisation of telecom companies showed a rise of 39.50% over the period. The highest gainer in this period was ITI, which showed a rise of 130.77%.
In July 2005, the market capitalisation of the telecom industry showed a rise of 84.60%, over the corresponding month of the previous year. In this period, share prices of all the companies showed an upward trend. (Market Capitalisation Table on Next Page).
Market Capitalisation of the Telecom Industry
COMPANY LATEST MCAP AS ON 29 JULY 05
RS.CR LATEST PRICE RS. CHANGE IN MARKET CAPITALISATION (%) OVER
1 MONTH 3 MONTHS 6 MONTHS 12 MONTHS
Total 85101.59 23.16 39.50 29.84 84.60
BSNL 53037.65 283.10 16.36 37.74 30.02 89.45
Videsh Sanchar Nigam 11894.48 417.35 80.16 99.69 99.93 133.94
Mahanagar Telephone Nigam 8401.05 133.35 14.12 14.51 -10.50 2.81
Tata Teleservices 4594.22 30.70 18.76 22.70 9.59 76.50
ITI 1900.80 66.00 83.08 130.77 788.89 1293.55
HFCL Infotel 1608.09 30.60 -2.86 -13.44 -28.00 303.38
Astra Microwave 1207.49 22.74.00 65.13 97.84 250.52 591.50
GTL 774.80 101.40 4.27 5.16 -6.17 22.61
Avaya GlobalConnect 505.24 355.05 -2.39 -10.09 -2.51 38.26
Shyam Telecom 279.34 86.75 2.97 7.30 -0.74 89.41
NELCO 119.35 52.30 27.57 37.63 17.80 42.51
Vital Communication 11.16 2.94 -6.38 127.76 57.18 325.95
Source: Capital Market Indian Economy Review – July 2005
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is India's leading telecommunications provider and the country's largest public-sector firm. BSNL provides local-exchange access and domestic long-distance services through a network of more than 45 million access lines covering most of India. It also offers wireless communications, data and Internet services, as well as business voice and data services. The company is still controlled by the government, as is India's other dominant phone company Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL). Plans to merge the two companies are in the works.
Company Type Private
Fiscal Year-End March
2004 Sales (mil.) $5,200.0
1-Year Sales Growth (4.3%)
Chairman, Managing Director, and Director, Planning and New Services V. P. Sinha
(Subscribers see complete biographies -- view sample)
Director, Finance S. D. Saxena
Director, Operations S. D. Choudhary
Top competitors
• Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited
• Sify
• VSNL
GSM / GPRS NETWORK EXPANSION
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) is one of the largest telecommunications companies in India covering both mobile communications and fixed infrastructure. The company was formed in October 2000 when the Indian Government Department of Telecom Operations was floated as a company. The success of the company shows in that it has over 38 million fixed line subscribers, 6.9 million GSM / GPRS subscribers and 1 million CDMA subscribers.
The company's Cell One network (GSM/GPRS) was launched in late 2002 and within six months had attracted 2.4 million subscribers. BSNL then decided to halt further network capacity expansion, as it believed it could not sustain the rate of growth. Subscriber numbers did not fall off, but neither did they increase at the same rate.
The BSNL board later realised its mistake and in November 2003 authorised capacity enhancement for their cash cow Cell One network (the company has also been affected by SIM card and GSM handset shortages). The expansion process is currently ongoing, increasing the capacity to accept 15 million more subscribers. The network expansion includes the biggest ever GSM tender for 11 million lines, worth $863 million (although the total investment may eventually reach $2.18 billion). This is scheduled to be in place by March 2005, giving BSNL capacity for 31.25 million subscribers. The company target is to reach a total of 25 million GSM subscribers (21.46% of the mobile market in India) by December 2005 from just 6.9 million subscribers in November 2004. BSNL has three major rivals in Bharti, Reliance Infocomm and Hutchinson.
Leading a revolution
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. can rightly claim to be leading India's information revolution and is expected to play a stellar role in the future as well.
BSNL Chairman and Managing Director V.P. Sinha conducts a video-conference between Bangalore and Chennai in the presence of Som Mittal, managing director, Digital Global Soft Ltd., left, and K. Padmanabhan, CGM (Telecom), Karnataka Circle.
On October 1, 2000, the Department of Telecom Operations, Government of India, became a corporation and was christened Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). Today, BSNL is the number one telecommunications company and the largest public sector undertaking in the country, with an authorised share capital of $3,600 million and net worth of $13.85 billion. It has a network of over 45 million lines covering 5,000 towns with over 35 million telephone connections. With the latest digital switching technology and an extensive transmission network, including synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) systems up to 2.5 gbps, dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) systems up to 80 gbps, web telephony, direct Internet access systems (DIAS), virtual private networks (VPN), broadband and more than 400,000 data customers, BSNL is geared to play a stellar role in the information revolution in the country.
Its responsibilities include the improvement of the quality of telecom services, the expansion of the telecom network, the introduction of new telecom services in all villages and increasing customer confidence. BSNL has managed to shoulder these responsibilities deftly.
A WLL phone comes in handy at the Pushkar ghat in Bhadrachalam.
Today, with a line capacity of over 45 million, a nationwide network management and surveillance system (NMSS) to control telecom traffic and over 4,00,000 route kilometres of optical fibre cable (OFC) network, and with 99.9 per cent of its exchanges being digital, BSNL is a name to reckon with in the world of telecommunications. Like its customer base, BSNL's financial and asset bases too are vast and strong. Consider these figures:
The telephone infrastructure alone is worth about Rs.1,00,000 crores ($21.2 billion) and the turnover is Rs.25,000 crores ($5.2 billion). Add to this BSNL's nationwide coverage and reach and comprehensive range of telecom services.
A CellOne network tower in Chennai.
The turnover of the company for the year 2001-02 was Rs.24,299.8 crores, which on an annualised basis implies a 5 per cent growth over the previous year. This growth took place in spite of a 62 per cent reduction in long-distance tariff during the last quarter of the year. The profit after tax was at a comfortable level of Rs.6,312 crores. In terms of extension of coverage, the percentage growth of telephone lines during that year (53 lakhs) was the highest ever in the history of telecommunication in the country. Another remarkable achievement was that this phenomenal growth was financed solely through the internal resources of the company, without having to resort to any market borrowing. After making adequate provision for a higher wage bill for the employees absorbed from the erstwhile Department of Telecom Services, the wage bill as a percentage of the turnover is still at a manageable level of 15.84. The net asset value has risen to Rs.58,922 crores. The capital outlay for the expansion and development of rural telephony was Rs.7,946 crores, which is approximately 50 per cent of the total capital expenditure of the company. The debt equity ratio also improved from that of the previous year, from 0.25 to 0.20. The strong fundamentals of the company will enable it to grow from strength to strength. The company plans to expand further its value-added services by introducing new technologies. CellOne, its cellular service, is the biggest in India and covers the entire country.
THE formation of BSNL was one of the landmark events in the history of telecommunications in India. Today, it has an awesome task of improving the quality of telecom services, expanding the telecom network, taking telecom services to all villages and instilling confidence in its customers.
A mobile tele shop in Tamil Nadu
Driven by the best of telecom technology from chosen global leaders, BSNL connects every part of the nation to different corners of the globe. "Connecting India", BSNL's slogan, is no empty claim. The company says it is communicating hopes, happiness, aspirations, dreams and much more.
Here is an overview of the world class services offered by BSNL:
Basic telephone services: The plain old countrywide telephone service through 32,000 electronic exchanges and the digitalised Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), with a host of Phone Plus value additions.
Internet: Accessing the global network of networks, the countrywide Internet services of BSNL under the brand name Sanchar Net, includes Internet dial-up/leased access service for web browsing and e-mail applications. An Internet telephony service was launched under the brand name Webfone recently. ISDN (Integrated Service Digital Network Service) of BSNL utilises a unique digital network providing high-speed and high-quality voice, data and image transfer over the same line. It can also facilitate both desktop video and high-quality video conferencing. Intelligent Network Service (In Service) offers value-added services, such as Free Phone Service (FPH), India Telephone Card (pre-paid card) Account Card Calling (ACC), VPN, tele-voting Premium Rate Service (PRM), Universal Access Number (UAN) and more.
An advertisement on the move.
I-Net: India's x.25 based packet Switched Public Data Network is operational in 104 cities of the country.
Leased lines and datacom: BSNL provides leased lines for voice and data communication for various applications on a point-to-point basis. It offers a choice of high-, medium- and low-speed leased data circuits as well as dial-up lines. Bandwidth is available on demand in most cities. Managed Leased Line Network (MLLN) offers flexibility of providing circuits with speeds of nx64 kbps up to 2 mbps, useful for Internet-leased lines and International Principle Leased Circuits (IPLCs).
Countrywide cellular service, pre-paid card: BSNL's project of GSM cellular mobile service envisages a customer base of over four million and supports applications like voice mail, e-mail, short message service (SMS), cell broadcast service, international roaming, IN Services like pre-paid card, premium rate, free phone, UAN, split charging and VPN.
A Chennai Telephones hoarding.
Wireless in Local Loop: This is a communication system that connects customers to the PSTN using radio frequency signals as a substitute for conventional wires for all or part of the connection between the subscribers and the telephone exchange.
Countrywide induction of WLL is under way for areas that are non-feasible for the normal network. It will help relieve congestion in the normal cable/wire-based network in urban areas, connecting the remote and scattered rural areas and limited mobility without any airtime charge.
Growth Plan
BSNL's future plan include a fast expansion programme of increasing the present 34 million lines to twice that number by 2005 and some 120 million lines by 2010.
The shift in demand from voice to data domination, and from wireline to wireless, has revolutionized the very nature of the network. BSNL has already set in place several measures that should enable it to evolve into a fully integrated multi-operator by 2005 and its incumbent status, size, infrastructure and human resource should certainly, give it a distinct advantage.
Consolidation of the network and maintaining high quality of service comparable to International standards is the key aim of the Growth Plan. Objective of the plan are:
The telephone connection shall be provided on demand and it shall be sustained.
The Network shall be made fully digital. All the technologically obsolete analog exchanges will be replaced with digital exchanges.
To provide digital transmission links up to all SDCAs.
Digital connectivity shall be made available to all the exchanges by 2007.
Extensive use of Optical fiber System in the local, Junction and long distance network so as to make available sufficient bandwidth for the spread of Internet and Information technology.
ISDN services shall be extended to all the district headquarters, subject to demand.
To provide Intelligent Network Services, progressively all over the country (major cities have already been covered).
To set up Internet Nodes progressively up to District headquarters level.
Upgrading existing STD/ISD PCOs to full fledged Public Tele-Info Centers (PTIC) for supporting Multi media capability and Internet Access.
Replacement of life expired, analogue coaxial and radio systems.
Introduction of Wireless technology (Supporting Internet Access) and optical fiber technology in subscriber loop.
Introduction of latest telecom services like National directory enquiry, computerization etc.
Cellular Mobile Service 'Cell One' of BSNL was launched on 19th October 2002 . The scheme will cover 4 million customers in two phases. Phase-I will cover about 1.5 million customers covering about 1000 cities during 2002-03, which will be expanded to 4 million in phase-II.
What is the Internet?
Today, the Internet is an enormous network of millions of computers allowing constant communication throughout the world. It includes: the World Wide Web, electronic mail (e-mail), File transfer Protocol (FTP), Internet Relay Chat (IRC) and USENET (news service)
The World Wide Web
Is the part of the Internet that most users see and use and which has made it so popular. The web continues to grow at an absolutely incredible rate. Technology has improved to such an extent that the web is now considered to be indispensable for education, business and enter tainment. There are billions of pages on the web and thousands more are added every hour.
E-Mail
Anyone can apply for an e-mail address and send and receive messages from their computer. The main benefit is the almost instantaneous delivery of messages. An e-mail to the other side of the world takes a few seconds. You can also sign up to automatically receive newsletters and other information, delivered directly to your computer.
File Transfer Protocol
Web pages are transferred between computers using the HTTP protocol, with other types of files sent using FTP. Users can share files, such as music and videos between themselves and the rest of the world by uploading them to a server and then allowing others to download them to their own computers.
Internet Relay Chat
IRC is a service allowing you to connect to your chosen channel and talk to others with the same interests. By downloading an appropriate programme, you can start chatting right away.
USENET
USENET (Unix User Network) is a system of bulletin boards whereby messages and points of view can be posted to be read and replied to. Similar to IRC, all sorts of topics are discussed and a wide range of groups take part.
There is no doubt that the Internet will have an increasing influence on the world in future.
Development of the Internet
The Internet didn't just happen overnight - rather it was the end result of a search that had been in place since the late 1950s.
By the time the world started to get online in the mid 1990s, the Net had been almost 40 years in the making.
ARPANET is born (1960) : an Internet is conceived
In 1969 the Pentagon commissioned ARPANET for research into networking. The following year, Vinton Cerf and others published their first proposals for protocols that would allow computers to 'talk' to each other. ARPANET began operating Network Control Protocol (NCP), the first host-to-host protocol.
In 1974 Vint Cerf joined Bob Kahn to present their 'Protocol for Packet Network Interconnection' specifying the detailed design of the 'Transmission Control Program' (TCP) - the basis of the modern Internet. In 1978 TCP was split into TCP (now short for Transmission Control Protocol) and IP (Internet Protocol).
TCP/IP defined : the foundation of the Internet
In 1982 TCP/IP was established as the protocol for ARPANET. This provided one of the first definitions of an internet as a connected set of networks using TCP/IP, but defining 'the Internet' as all connected TCP/IP internets.The launch of the Russian satellite Sputnik in 1957 threw the American military and scientific establishment into near panic with visions of Soviet weapons in space striking a helpless America. As part of the response, in 1959 the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) was formed within the Pentagon to establish an American lead in military science and technology.
By the early 1960s the first theories of computer networking were starting to be shaped and in 1965 ARPA sponsored a study on 'co-operative network of time-sharing computers'.
The first such plan was shaped by Lawrence G. Roberts, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in October 1966. Designs for such a network were put forward the following year and in 1968 the Pentagon sent out requests for proposals for ARPANET - a computer network to unite America's military and scientific establishments.
The World Wide Web is invented (1991) : anyone and everyone
By the end of the 1980s the European Particle Research Laboratory CERN in Geneva was one of the premier Internet sites in Europe. CERN desperately needed a better way of locating all the files, documents and other resources that now threatened to overwhelm it.
A young British scientist, Tim Berners-Lee, working as a consultant for CERN, had the answer. His 'World Wide Web' system assigned a common system of written addresses and hypertext links to all information. Hypertext is the organisation of information units into connections that a user can make, the association is called a link.
In October 1990 Berners-Lee started working on a hypertext graphical user interface (GUI) browser and editor. In 1991 the first WWW files were made available on the Internet for download using File Transfer Protocol (FTP).
By 1993 the world was starting to wake up to the World Wide Web. In October that year there were around 200 known HTTP servers. Within a year there would be thousands.
May 1994 saw the first International WWW Conference - at CERN in Geneva. The event was heavily oversubscribed, with 800 applying to attend and only 400 allowed in.
By now the load on the first Web server at CERN was 1,000 times what it had been three years earlier
The search for speed (1965) : waiting for the progress bar
The Post Office's first computer modem in 1965 ran at a maximum speed (or data transfer rate) of 600 bits per second. Today's modems run at 56kbit/s, nearly 100 times faster.
So why does the Internet experience seem so depressingly slow at times?
One reason is file size. Files took less time to cross the system in 1965 simply because they were smaller and were plain text, with no formatting. We pay for rich data in longer file transfer times.
Users also generally share a node (entry point) to the Internet, meaning you may have to wait a while for your turn to come round.
Furthermore, if you're hitting a popular site, you'll be competing with hundreds or thousands of others for the attention of that site's servers.
What can you do? Not a lot. You could try changing the time of day you go online, remembering that America accounts for easily half the traffic on the Web - and they're between five and eight hours behind.
The Internet price war : when ISPs collide
Just as the saying goes about there's no such thing as a 'free lunch', there is also no such thing as free Internet access - with nobody as yet finding a way to provide the telephone or data connections involved completely free of charge.
That said, prices have fallen with some Internet Service Providers (ISPs) offering unlimited dial-up access, faster connections through broadband technology, virus scanning and lots more lot for a fixed monthly charge.
Originally, many ISPs made money by taking a proportion of the call costs. There was no monthly subscription but users had to pay local call rates, meaning the bill grew with every extra minute spent online. Complaints that this was holding back Internet use coupled with pressure on margins and it was this that spurred most ISPs into offering tariffs that now give unlimited use for a fixed price.
Making internet access available to everyone in the UK is also firmly in the minds of our politicians with the three main parties continually stressing its importance in our lives.
INTERNET SERVICES INDUSTRY - AN OVERVIEW
Introduction
The state-owned Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) launched Internet Services in India in August 1995. For the first four years, VSNL was the sole provider of Internet Services in the Country. In November 1998, the Government ended VSNL’s monopoly and allowed provisioning of Internet Services by Private Operators. The Terms and Conditions of the ISP’s License were unusually liberal with no License Fee and allowed unlimited number of players. ISPs could set their own tariffs and even their own International Gateways.
DoT issues three types of licenses – Category ‘A’ for all-India operations; Category ‘B’ for metros and state - level circles, and Category ‘C’ for medium and small cities (SDCAs). Presently there are 390 License holders, 64 in Category ‘A’ and 135& 191 each in Category ‘B’ and ‘C’. About 189 licensees have started their operations.
The Internet is certainly a major phenomenon in India today. Everywhere one looks, the signs of its arrival and adoption are visible. In fact it is being universally recognized that as the Internet proliferates, so will E-Commerce and E-Governance and E-Business. It is, therefore, in our National interest to boost the expansion of Internet Services in the Country. This will not only help our country to become a part of emerging global E-economy, but will also enable the citizens to avail of the benefits arising out of IT enabled services.
Initiatives by the Government
The New Telecom Policy, 1999 (NTP ’99) stipulates targets in terms of establishing Telecom Network with a view to achieve tele-density of 7 per 100 by the year 2005 and 15 per 100 by the year 2010. The NTP ’99 also stipulates targets for providing Internet Access to all District Headquarters by the year 2002. In addition, the Government has initiated various pro-active measures in the proliferation of the Internet Services in the Country. Some of the important initiatives are as under :
• ISP License is one of the most liberal License, wherein no License Fee has been levied on the ISPs till 31st October 2003.Thereafter, a token license fee of Rs. One per annum is payable w.e.f. 1st November 2003.
• There is no restriction on the number of Service Providers in all the three categories i.e. ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’.
• ISPs have been permitted to set up International Gateways by having business arrangement with Foreign Satellites Providers and Collaborators.
• ISPs have been permitted to provide last mile access using Radio and Fiber Optics.
• ISPs have been permitted to provide ISP Services through Cable T V Infrastructure / Operators.
• The Government has initiated an ambitious plan to developed National Internet Backbone (NIB) in the country.
• 100% FDI allowed through automatic route to the ISP (without gateways), 74% in case of ISPs setting up International Gateways.
• ISP's permitted to set up Submarine Cable Landing Stations either singly or jointly in collaboration with International Undersea Bandwidth Carriers.
• National Long Distance Services opened to private sector on non-exclusive basis.
• International Long Distance Services opened up to private sector on non-exclusive basis w.e.f. April 1, 2002
• Implementation of IT Act, 2000.
• Internet Telephony Services opened up to ISPs w.e.f. April 1, 2002.
• De-licensing of W-LAN in 2.4 Ghz band using IEEE 802.11b technology
• Reduction of Performance Bank Guarantee by 50% for Category A & B ISPs and 33% for Category C ISPs.
Since 1995, a number of countries have permitted VOIP as a technology option to the classical PSTN as well as Internet Telephony so as to provide a cheaper alternative to classical PSTN calls. In India, the ISPs were allowed to offer Internet Telephony Services with effect from April 1, 2002. With the choice availability of Toll Quality (PSTN) and Non-Toll Quality options, Internet Telephony has thrown open Long Distance Telephony to those sections of Society, which could not afford the same earlier. Further, Internet Telephony is proving to be a key driver for local entrepreneurs to set up Community Information Centers / Cyber-kiosks / Internet Dhabas, etc even in small towns and villages. In fact it has made distance learning, Tele-medicine and e-governance etc a reality in Indian context.
More than 90 ISPs have been granted license for offering Internet Telephony Services. There has been a substantial growth in the Cyber Café / Cyber Dhabas offering Internet Telephony Services. It is expected that Internet Telephony will provide fillip to the demand for network facilities including bandwidth, last mile access and other connectivity resources and bridging the digital divide within the Countr. However, an important issue needing immediate attention is tackling the Internet Telephony Grey Market which is estimated to be about 90 per cent of the total Internet Telephony market in India and requires concerted efforts by Government and industry. It is imperative that all leading ISPs including VSNL, BSNL and MTNL join hand to tackle the menace.
Some Interesting Findings By Survey on Internet
• Over 78% of the Internet Users are in the age group 18 – 39 years and 75% of the Internet Users are Males.
• The Capital Cities (New Delhi and Other State Capital) accounts for 79% of Internet Connections of the Country.
• More than 86% of top Corporate Houses have endorsed that Internet and E-Commerce is an integral part of their corporate strategic framework.
• Over 76 % of the Internet Users use E-mail Services
• Over 61% of the Users Access Internet from school, colleges, place of work and Cyber Cafes while 27% access Internet from homes.
• Among the career conscious and education driven middle class, Internet is seen as critical to success in professional life.
• There are approx 59 million telephone connections (including Mobile) and 8.5 million PC base in India.
There are approx. 47 million Cable T V Connections out of 92 million TV Sets in the Country.
Open the floodgates of innovation
By Sabeer Bhatia
In the early 70s, the Internet had a humble beginning in a US defence research organisation called DARPA. Then on, the Internet has grown into a truly ubiquitous network that touches the life of every human being, directly or indirectly.
The growth in Internet usage did not happen in a steady manner. The inflexion point happened in the late 90s precipitated by two innovations—the availability of the ubiquitous Web browser and e-mail services such as Hotmail. Since then, the Internet has evolved into a platform for free speech that is now accessed by nearly a billion users worldwide, and its influence and impact on communications, commerce and intellectual freedom is unprecedented.
In India too, the Internet has taken root and grown along many fronts in the past decade. But it has been like the proverbial curate’s egg—good in parts, bad in others. It opened up opportunities for consumers—the medium could be leveraged to achieve social, business and development objectives—and for software creators to craft technology solutions based around the Internet to establish India as a powerhouse for innovation.
India’s performance on the first front has been middling. The Internet user population in India is estimated at around 25 million. While this might seem a large number, relative to the global Internet population and to India’s total population, it is an anaemic figure. Also, this growth is concentrated almost exclusively within large cities.
There are several reasons for this low penetration. The first, I believe, is the role of the government. Contrary to popular belief, the Internet is not a development that came out of R&D labs. It was the US government that took the lead in establishing the Internet. But, once the diffusion of the Internet was precipitated and the industry stepped in, it reduced its hold and stepped back.
Historically, the Indian government has impeded the Internet with a combination of studied indifference and myopic government monopoly policies. For instance, in the matter of allowing Internet Telephony—the policy in India allows only the ISPs to offer Internet Telephony and that too in a very restricted manner. This is detrimental to the interests of consumers because it does not allow them to enjoy the full benefits of innovation in technology.
In my travels around the world, I am often asked a question: "Could you have done Hotmail in India?" And my answer has inevitably been, "No!" Had I attempted to create Hotmail in India, somebody would have come to me claiming that I was taking away the revenues of phone or fax companies!
The Internet can be a powerful democratising force, offering greater social, economic and political participation to communities that have traditionally been overlooked.
There have been a few instances of state governments and corporates taking initiatives to reach out to these stakeholders—the e-Choupal initiative and a successful e-governance experiment using Wi-Fi in Tiruvarur—but they have been sporadic and insufficient. People cite, mistakenly, a number of reasons to explain the lack of penetration. These range from the high cost of PCs to the lack of connectivity in villages. I do not believe these are limiting factors.
While there have been several attempts to bring down the cost of PCs to an affordable level, these efforts have been largely misplaced. I do not believe that bringing down the cost of a PC, to say Rs 10,000, would magically facilitate a ‘tipping point’ that would unleash wide adoption.
The growth in cellular phones in India is a heartening phenomenon and the price and pervasiveness of these devices throw up the possibility of adapting them as Internet access devices, obviating the need for PCs.
Mobile networks, that are increasingly pervasive in India, will provide the last-mile channel for individuals to access the public Internet network and these will increasingly be broadband in nature. To boot, Internet access can be provided by upgrading the many privately-run public telephone offices in the country today.
To achieve success in terms of pervasive Internet diffusion, endemic illiteracy should be tackled. We must facilitate literacy to harness the collective intellectual potential of our country. We cannot merely depend on the government to tackle this problem. NGOs such as Room to Read and Round Table India work to solve the illiteracy problem and I urge each one of you to contribute your time and money towards allying with such organisations and make a difference.
WHAT IS BPO?
Business Process Outsourcing is the long-term contracting out of non-core business processes to an outside provider to help achieve increased shareholder value.
Many IT professionals are familiar with the term business process outsourcing (BPO), but knowing how to distinguish it from other types of outsourcing requires some scrutiny.
Though some forms of BPO may include both IT management and business operations, the approach is primarily about turning over functions such as payroll, accounting, billing or even real estate management to a third party. Though these business processes may depend on IT, they are separate functions from core IT operations, such as data center activities or network management.
1 Free Your Resources and Work On Your Strategy
An important aspect of business process outsourcing is its ability to free corporate executives from some of their day-to-day process management responsibilities. Traditionally, executives spend 80 percent of their time managing details, and only 20 percent on strategy. Once a process is successfully outsourced, the ratio can be reversed. Executives get more control over their most valuable resource: time. Time to explore new revenue streams, time to accelerate other projects, and time to focus on their customers.
2 Improve Processes - Save Money
Companies that outsource business processes are often able to reengineer those processes and capture new efficiencies. Then they can reallocate resources to other important projects and leverage their investment in technology. For example, processes that are handled in a shared production environment for multiple companies save everyone money. In most cases, high-caliber subject-matter experts are brought in to design and manage these processes, bringing with them best practices, innovation, and years of experience that most companies don't have access to or can't afford on their own.
3 Increase Your Capabilities
With this expertise often comes increased capability. In addition to doing things more efficiently, you can expand your ability to deliver new products and services to your customers. Then there are the factors of scalability and scope. Companies that want to grow internationally must continuously invest in infrastructure and find talent around the world. Many outsourcing providers are already established globally and can help make the growth process run smoothly.
BENEFITS OF BPO
Improve productivity and operational efficiencies
Non-core business processes, such as human resources and finance and accounting, are critical, but also resource-intensive, time-consuming, and costly. Outsourcing improves operational efficiencies and drastically reduces costs without large, up-front capital investments
Reduce costs
BPO provides quantifiable benefits through improved efficiencies, lower overhead, reduced payroll and benefit expenses, and fewer capital investments.
Allow organizations to focus on their core business
BPO allows organizations to move non-core business processes to a services provider so that they may focus on the more important strategic, revenue-generating programs that create profitable growth and sustain business success.
Ensure best practices, skills, and technology
BPO provides access to proprietary workflow systems, process reengineering skills, and innovative staffing and delivery models, combined with world-class technology delivered by experts.
Provide access to scalable operations and on-demand resources
BPO provides the flexibility to respond to a rapidly changing marketplace and scale operations up or down as conditions dictate. In a BPO engagement, Go4BPO delivers access to global staff, processes, resources, and technology-wherever and whenever they are needed.
Strengthen clients’ competitive position
Organizations must leverage a BPO strategy to improve their financial and competitive positions and differentiate themselves from competitors. BPO results in increased customer satisfaction, more efficient operations, access to global capabilities, increased cash flow, and faster time-to-market.
The Communication sector is amongst the fastest growing in the country. It work in all major markets around the world. Communication technology’s products and solutions are accepted globally. The first year of the new millennium has been a year of turbulence, tragedy, terrorism and slow-down in the world economy. The Indian Communication industry has weathered this storm well. It is indeed creditable that the industry and services in India has reasonably continued its robust growth in the year 2003-04
This sector has emerged as one of the fastest growing sectors in the economy
History of communication in India
A major reorganisation of the department took place in April, 1925. The accounts of the Indian Posts and Telegraphs were reconstituted to examine the true fiscal profile of the department. The attempt was to find out the extent to which the department was imposing a burden on the taxpayers or bringing in revenue to the Exchequer, how far each of the four constituent branches of the department, the postal, telegraph, telephone and wireless were contributing towards this result. It was further examined whether the rates charged from the public for the various services were inadequate or excessive.The Posts and Telegraphs, like all public and private undertakings, was a victim of the universal financial and economic depression which crashed on the world in 1930. During 1931, numerous economy measures had to be introduced according to the advice of the Posts and Telegraphs Sub-Committee to the Retrenchment Committee presided over by Sir Cowasjee Jehangir Jr. Naturally, the adoption of the various measures of retrenchment could not but have an adverse effect on the emoluments and interests of the personnel of the Department.
From the beginning, P&T set up was run on welfare lines. Profit was not the motto. The annual report of the department for 1931 said "It is the accepted policy of the Government that the department should be so administered that there should be neither any substantial profit nor any substantial loss on its working under normal conditions. As has already been indicated, the achievement of this ideal has not proved possible owing mainly to the exceptional economic and trade conditions of recent years. One of the main contributory causes was the revision and improvement of pay of the great bulk of the employees of the department in recent years. This was undertaken with the approval of and indeed under pressure by the Legislative Assembly. While the department is commonly spoken of as a 'commercial' one and though as far as possible it is guided by the commercial considerations in the regulation of its business, it must be realised that in many directions it is debarred from observing strict business principles. Many of the purposes which it is required to serve are unremunerative and notably, in matters relating to the employment and control of staff, the department is bound by a large volume of statutory and other rules, doubtless necessary for the regulation of a public service, but which in the aggregate involve many restrictions of a kind unknown to private commercial concerns.
After the implementation of the Federal Financial Integration Scheme of 1st April, 1950, the administration of the entire network of telegraph and telephone systems of the nation, including those that previously existing in the former princely states became a major adventure. In 1950 the number of Telephone Exchanges absorbed from princely states was 196. These systems which were working with different degrees of efficiency could fit into the general telecommunication network. The installed capacity of these 196 exchanges was 13,362 lines with 11,296 working connections. Soon after the absorption an attempt was made to improve their technical efficiency by replacing obsolete and unserviceable equipment and lending well-qualified and experienced staff. Simultaneously, isolated exchanges were integrated with the general pool. The more complicated task was acquisition of the staff. Their final absorption into the different cadres of service in Posts and Telegraphs was a major step.
FROM P&T TO DoT
Till 31st December, 1984, the postal, telegraph and telephone services were managed by the Posts and Telegraphs Department. In January 1985, two separate Departments for the Posts and the Telecommunications were created. The accounts of the department, initially, were maintained by the Accountant General of the P&T. However, by April 1972, the telecommunications accounts were separated. Simultaneously the department also started preparing the balance sheet annually. With the takeover of the accounts from the audit and delegation of larger financial powers to the field units, internal Financial Advisers were posted to all the circles and units.
Telecommunication
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Stellar growth in cellular subscriber base
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In June 2005, new basic services (fixed and WLL) connections showed a rise of 16.20% to 6.67 lakh over the corresponding month of the previous year (10.38%). In the first quarter of the current financial year, new connections showed a decline of 25.35% to 10.19 lakh over the corresponding period of previous year. The outstanding connections in June 2005 were 583.66 lakh, which showed a rise of 12.65% over the corresponding month of the previous year, when they showed a rise of 18.97% to 518.13 lakh.
In June 2005, the new switching capacity showed a rise of 109.9% to 6.15 lakh over the corresponding month of the previous year (318.57%). In April-June 2005, the new switching capacity showed a decline of 3.68% to 11.24 lakh over the corresponding period of the previous year. With this addition, the tele-density has increased from 7.49% in June 2004 to 9.37% in June 2005.
In June 2005, the new cellular subscribers showed a rise of 49.04% to 15.73 lakh over the corresponding month of the previous year. In the current financial year till June 2005, the new cellular subscribers showed a rise of 27.65% to 38.94 lakh, which was 23.95% in the corresponding period of the previous year.
The total outstanding cellular subscribers in June 2005 showed a rise of 53.81% to 449.20 lakh over the corresponding month of the previous year (92.79%). Bharti Tele-Ventures had the highest market share in the all-India GSM cell subscriber base, followed by BSNL and Hutch.
The total additional phones in the first quarter were 51.71 lakh. But due to the negative growth in basic phones, the net addition was only 49.13 lakh. In the first quarter of the current financial year, the private sector played a major role in expansion; it contributed around 86% of the total additions.
In the rural areas, only BSNL has provided direct exchange lines and village public telephones (VPTs) BSNL provided 80,928 telephones in April-June of 2005-06. about 1,182 VPTs were also provided by BSNL in the past three months. The cellular customer base of BSNL and MTNL has expanded to about 102 lakh and 11 lakh, respectively.
To boost their subscriber base, direct commercial international GSM roaming was launched by BSNL and MTNL with four networks in Hong Kong, Thailand and Turkey. GSM international roaming agreement was signed with nine GSM operators from Hong Kong, Indonesia, Congo, Kuwait, Uzbekistan, Guyana, Denmark and Bahrain.
Market Capitalisation
The market capitalisation of the telecom industry showed a rise of 23.16% over the month to Rs. 85101.59 crore as on 29 July 2005. In July 2005, the share prices of telecom sector companies showed an upward trend, except three companies. The highest gainer in this month, was ITI, which showed a rise of 83.08% over the month, followed by Videsh Sanchar Nigam, which rose 80.16%. Bharti Tele-Ventures, which has the highest market capitalisation, showed a rise of 16.36% over the month.
In the three months ended 30 June 2005, the market capitalisation of telecom companies showed a rise of 39.50% over the period. The highest gainer in this period was ITI, which showed a rise of 130.77%.
In July 2005, the market capitalisation of the telecom industry showed a rise of 84.60%, over the corresponding month of the previous year. In this period, share prices of all the companies showed an upward trend. (Market Capitalisation Table on Next Page).
Market Capitalisation of the Telecom Industry
COMPANY LATEST MCAP AS ON 29 JULY 05
RS.CR LATEST PRICE RS. CHANGE IN MARKET CAPITALISATION (%) OVER
1 MONTH 3 MONTHS 6 MONTHS 12 MONTHS
Total 85101.59 23.16 39.50 29.84 84.60
BSNL 53037.65 283.10 16.36 37.74 30.02 89.45
Videsh Sanchar Nigam 11894.48 417.35 80.16 99.69 99.93 133.94
Mahanagar Telephone Nigam 8401.05 133.35 14.12 14.51 -10.50 2.81
Tata Teleservices 4594.22 30.70 18.76 22.70 9.59 76.50
ITI 1900.80 66.00 83.08 130.77 788.89 1293.55
HFCL Infotel 1608.09 30.60 -2.86 -13.44 -28.00 303.38
Astra Microwave 1207.49 22.74.00 65.13 97.84 250.52 591.50
GTL 774.80 101.40 4.27 5.16 -6.17 22.61
Avaya GlobalConnect 505.24 355.05 -2.39 -10.09 -2.51 38.26
Shyam Telecom 279.34 86.75 2.97 7.30 -0.74 89.41
NELCO 119.35 52.30 27.57 37.63 17.80 42.51
Vital Communication 11.16 2.94 -6.38 127.76 57.18 325.95
Source: Capital Market Indian Economy Review – July 2005
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is India's leading telecommunications provider and the country's largest public-sector firm. BSNL provides local-exchange access and domestic long-distance services through a network of more than 45 million access lines covering most of India. It also offers wireless communications, data and Internet services, as well as business voice and data services. The company is still controlled by the government, as is India's other dominant phone company Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL). Plans to merge the two companies are in the works.
Company Type Private
Fiscal Year-End March
2004 Sales (mil.) $5,200.0
1-Year Sales Growth (4.3%)
Chairman, Managing Director, and Director, Planning and New Services V. P. Sinha
(Subscribers see complete biographies -- view sample)
Director, Finance S. D. Saxena
Director, Operations S. D. Choudhary
Top competitors
• Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited
• Sify
• VSNL
GSM / GPRS NETWORK EXPANSION
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) is one of the largest telecommunications companies in India covering both mobile communications and fixed infrastructure. The company was formed in October 2000 when the Indian Government Department of Telecom Operations was floated as a company. The success of the company shows in that it has over 38 million fixed line subscribers, 6.9 million GSM / GPRS subscribers and 1 million CDMA subscribers.
The company's Cell One network (GSM/GPRS) was launched in late 2002 and within six months had attracted 2.4 million subscribers. BSNL then decided to halt further network capacity expansion, as it believed it could not sustain the rate of growth. Subscriber numbers did not fall off, but neither did they increase at the same rate.
The BSNL board later realised its mistake and in November 2003 authorised capacity enhancement for their cash cow Cell One network (the company has also been affected by SIM card and GSM handset shortages). The expansion process is currently ongoing, increasing the capacity to accept 15 million more subscribers. The network expansion includes the biggest ever GSM tender for 11 million lines, worth $863 million (although the total investment may eventually reach $2.18 billion). This is scheduled to be in place by March 2005, giving BSNL capacity for 31.25 million subscribers. The company target is to reach a total of 25 million GSM subscribers (21.46% of the mobile market in India) by December 2005 from just 6.9 million subscribers in November 2004. BSNL has three major rivals in Bharti, Reliance Infocomm and Hutchinson.
Leading a revolution
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. can rightly claim to be leading India's information revolution and is expected to play a stellar role in the future as well.
BSNL Chairman and Managing Director V.P. Sinha conducts a video-conference between Bangalore and Chennai in the presence of Som Mittal, managing director, Digital Global Soft Ltd., left, and K. Padmanabhan, CGM (Telecom), Karnataka Circle.
On October 1, 2000, the Department of Telecom Operations, Government of India, became a corporation and was christened Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). Today, BSNL is the number one telecommunications company and the largest public sector undertaking in the country, with an authorised share capital of $3,600 million and net worth of $13.85 billion. It has a network of over 45 million lines covering 5,000 towns with over 35 million telephone connections. With the latest digital switching technology and an extensive transmission network, including synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) systems up to 2.5 gbps, dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) systems up to 80 gbps, web telephony, direct Internet access systems (DIAS), virtual private networks (VPN), broadband and more than 400,000 data customers, BSNL is geared to play a stellar role in the information revolution in the country.
Its responsibilities include the improvement of the quality of telecom services, the expansion of the telecom network, the introduction of new telecom services in all villages and increasing customer confidence. BSNL has managed to shoulder these responsibilities deftly.
A WLL phone comes in handy at the Pushkar ghat in Bhadrachalam.
Today, with a line capacity of over 45 million, a nationwide network management and surveillance system (NMSS) to control telecom traffic and over 4,00,000 route kilometres of optical fibre cable (OFC) network, and with 99.9 per cent of its exchanges being digital, BSNL is a name to reckon with in the world of telecommunications. Like its customer base, BSNL's financial and asset bases too are vast and strong. Consider these figures:
The telephone infrastructure alone is worth about Rs.1,00,000 crores ($21.2 billion) and the turnover is Rs.25,000 crores ($5.2 billion). Add to this BSNL's nationwide coverage and reach and comprehensive range of telecom services.
A CellOne network tower in Chennai.
The turnover of the company for the year 2001-02 was Rs.24,299.8 crores, which on an annualised basis implies a 5 per cent growth over the previous year. This growth took place in spite of a 62 per cent reduction in long-distance tariff during the last quarter of the year. The profit after tax was at a comfortable level of Rs.6,312 crores. In terms of extension of coverage, the percentage growth of telephone lines during that year (53 lakhs) was the highest ever in the history of telecommunication in the country. Another remarkable achievement was that this phenomenal growth was financed solely through the internal resources of the company, without having to resort to any market borrowing. After making adequate provision for a higher wage bill for the employees absorbed from the erstwhile Department of Telecom Services, the wage bill as a percentage of the turnover is still at a manageable level of 15.84. The net asset value has risen to Rs.58,922 crores. The capital outlay for the expansion and development of rural telephony was Rs.7,946 crores, which is approximately 50 per cent of the total capital expenditure of the company. The debt equity ratio also improved from that of the previous year, from 0.25 to 0.20. The strong fundamentals of the company will enable it to grow from strength to strength. The company plans to expand further its value-added services by introducing new technologies. CellOne, its cellular service, is the biggest in India and covers the entire country.
THE formation of BSNL was one of the landmark events in the history of telecommunications in India. Today, it has an awesome task of improving the quality of telecom services, expanding the telecom network, taking telecom services to all villages and instilling confidence in its customers.
A mobile tele shop in Tamil Nadu
Driven by the best of telecom technology from chosen global leaders, BSNL connects every part of the nation to different corners of the globe. "Connecting India", BSNL's slogan, is no empty claim. The company says it is communicating hopes, happiness, aspirations, dreams and much more.
Here is an overview of the world class services offered by BSNL:
Basic telephone services: The plain old countrywide telephone service through 32,000 electronic exchanges and the digitalised Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), with a host of Phone Plus value additions.
Internet: Accessing the global network of networks, the countrywide Internet services of BSNL under the brand name Sanchar Net, includes Internet dial-up/leased access service for web browsing and e-mail applications. An Internet telephony service was launched under the brand name Webfone recently. ISDN (Integrated Service Digital Network Service) of BSNL utilises a unique digital network providing high-speed and high-quality voice, data and image transfer over the same line. It can also facilitate both desktop video and high-quality video conferencing. Intelligent Network Service (In Service) offers value-added services, such as Free Phone Service (FPH), India Telephone Card (pre-paid card) Account Card Calling (ACC), VPN, tele-voting Premium Rate Service (PRM), Universal Access Number (UAN) and more.
An advertisement on the move.
I-Net: India's x.25 based packet Switched Public Data Network is operational in 104 cities of the country.
Leased lines and datacom: BSNL provides leased lines for voice and data communication for various applications on a point-to-point basis. It offers a choice of high-, medium- and low-speed leased data circuits as well as dial-up lines. Bandwidth is available on demand in most cities. Managed Leased Line Network (MLLN) offers flexibility of providing circuits with speeds of nx64 kbps up to 2 mbps, useful for Internet-leased lines and International Principle Leased Circuits (IPLCs).
Countrywide cellular service, pre-paid card: BSNL's project of GSM cellular mobile service envisages a customer base of over four million and supports applications like voice mail, e-mail, short message service (SMS), cell broadcast service, international roaming, IN Services like pre-paid card, premium rate, free phone, UAN, split charging and VPN.
A Chennai Telephones hoarding.
Wireless in Local Loop: This is a communication system that connects customers to the PSTN using radio frequency signals as a substitute for conventional wires for all or part of the connection between the subscribers and the telephone exchange.
Countrywide induction of WLL is under way for areas that are non-feasible for the normal network. It will help relieve congestion in the normal cable/wire-based network in urban areas, connecting the remote and scattered rural areas and limited mobility without any airtime charge.
Growth Plan
BSNL's future plan include a fast expansion programme of increasing the present 34 million lines to twice that number by 2005 and some 120 million lines by 2010.
The shift in demand from voice to data domination, and from wireline to wireless, has revolutionized the very nature of the network. BSNL has already set in place several measures that should enable it to evolve into a fully integrated multi-operator by 2005 and its incumbent status, size, infrastructure and human resource should certainly, give it a distinct advantage.
Consolidation of the network and maintaining high quality of service comparable to International standards is the key aim of the Growth Plan. Objective of the plan are:
The telephone connection shall be provided on demand and it shall be sustained.
The Network shall be made fully digital. All the technologically obsolete analog exchanges will be replaced with digital exchanges.
To provide digital transmission links up to all SDCAs.
Digital connectivity shall be made available to all the exchanges by 2007.
Extensive use of Optical fiber System in the local, Junction and long distance network so as to make available sufficient bandwidth for the spread of Internet and Information technology.
ISDN services shall be extended to all the district headquarters, subject to demand.
To provide Intelligent Network Services, progressively all over the country (major cities have already been covered).
To set up Internet Nodes progressively up to District headquarters level.
Upgrading existing STD/ISD PCOs to full fledged Public Tele-Info Centers (PTIC) for supporting Multi media capability and Internet Access.
Replacement of life expired, analogue coaxial and radio systems.
Introduction of Wireless technology (Supporting Internet Access) and optical fiber technology in subscriber loop.
Introduction of latest telecom services like National directory enquiry, computerization etc.
Cellular Mobile Service 'Cell One' of BSNL was launched on 19th October 2002 . The scheme will cover 4 million customers in two phases. Phase-I will cover about 1.5 million customers covering about 1000 cities during 2002-03, which will be expanded to 4 million in phase-II.
What is the Internet?
Today, the Internet is an enormous network of millions of computers allowing constant communication throughout the world. It includes: the World Wide Web, electronic mail (e-mail), File transfer Protocol (FTP), Internet Relay Chat (IRC) and USENET (news service)
The World Wide Web
Is the part of the Internet that most users see and use and which has made it so popular. The web continues to grow at an absolutely incredible rate. Technology has improved to such an extent that the web is now considered to be indispensable for education, business and enter tainment. There are billions of pages on the web and thousands more are added every hour.
Anyone can apply for an e-mail address and send and receive messages from their computer. The main benefit is the almost instantaneous delivery of messages. An e-mail to the other side of the world takes a few seconds. You can also sign up to automatically receive newsletters and other information, delivered directly to your computer.
File Transfer Protocol
Web pages are transferred between computers using the HTTP protocol, with other types of files sent using FTP. Users can share files, such as music and videos between themselves and the rest of the world by uploading them to a server and then allowing others to download them to their own computers.
Internet Relay Chat
IRC is a service allowing you to connect to your chosen channel and talk to others with the same interests. By downloading an appropriate programme, you can start chatting right away.
USENET
USENET (Unix User Network) is a system of bulletin boards whereby messages and points of view can be posted to be read and replied to. Similar to IRC, all sorts of topics are discussed and a wide range of groups take part.
There is no doubt that the Internet will have an increasing influence on the world in future.
Development of the Internet
The Internet didn't just happen overnight - rather it was the end result of a search that had been in place since the late 1950s.
By the time the world started to get online in the mid 1990s, the Net had been almost 40 years in the making.
ARPANET is born (1960) : an Internet is conceived
In 1969 the Pentagon commissioned ARPANET for research into networking. The following year, Vinton Cerf and others published their first proposals for protocols that would allow computers to 'talk' to each other. ARPANET began operating Network Control Protocol (NCP), the first host-to-host protocol.
In 1974 Vint Cerf joined Bob Kahn to present their 'Protocol for Packet Network Interconnection' specifying the detailed design of the 'Transmission Control Program' (TCP) - the basis of the modern Internet. In 1978 TCP was split into TCP (now short for Transmission Control Protocol) and IP (Internet Protocol).
TCP/IP defined : the foundation of the Internet
In 1982 TCP/IP was established as the protocol for ARPANET. This provided one of the first definitions of an internet as a connected set of networks using TCP/IP, but defining 'the Internet' as all connected TCP/IP internets.The launch of the Russian satellite Sputnik in 1957 threw the American military and scientific establishment into near panic with visions of Soviet weapons in space striking a helpless America. As part of the response, in 1959 the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) was formed within the Pentagon to establish an American lead in military science and technology.
By the early 1960s the first theories of computer networking were starting to be shaped and in 1965 ARPA sponsored a study on 'co-operative network of time-sharing computers'.
The first such plan was shaped by Lawrence G. Roberts, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in October 1966. Designs for such a network were put forward the following year and in 1968 the Pentagon sent out requests for proposals for ARPANET - a computer network to unite America's military and scientific establishments.
The World Wide Web is invented (1991) : anyone and everyone
By the end of the 1980s the European Particle Research Laboratory CERN in Geneva was one of the premier Internet sites in Europe. CERN desperately needed a better way of locating all the files, documents and other resources that now threatened to overwhelm it.
A young British scientist, Tim Berners-Lee, working as a consultant for CERN, had the answer. His 'World Wide Web' system assigned a common system of written addresses and hypertext links to all information. Hypertext is the organisation of information units into connections that a user can make, the association is called a link.
In October 1990 Berners-Lee started working on a hypertext graphical user interface (GUI) browser and editor. In 1991 the first WWW files were made available on the Internet for download using File Transfer Protocol (FTP).
By 1993 the world was starting to wake up to the World Wide Web. In October that year there were around 200 known HTTP servers. Within a year there would be thousands.
May 1994 saw the first International WWW Conference - at CERN in Geneva. The event was heavily oversubscribed, with 800 applying to attend and only 400 allowed in.
By now the load on the first Web server at CERN was 1,000 times what it had been three years earlier
The search for speed (1965) : waiting for the progress bar
The Post Office's first computer modem in 1965 ran at a maximum speed (or data transfer rate) of 600 bits per second. Today's modems run at 56kbit/s, nearly 100 times faster.
So why does the Internet experience seem so depressingly slow at times?
One reason is file size. Files took less time to cross the system in 1965 simply because they were smaller and were plain text, with no formatting. We pay for rich data in longer file transfer times.
Users also generally share a node (entry point) to the Internet, meaning you may have to wait a while for your turn to come round.
Furthermore, if you're hitting a popular site, you'll be competing with hundreds or thousands of others for the attention of that site's servers.
What can you do? Not a lot. You could try changing the time of day you go online, remembering that America accounts for easily half the traffic on the Web - and they're between five and eight hours behind.
The Internet price war : when ISPs collide
Just as the saying goes about there's no such thing as a 'free lunch', there is also no such thing as free Internet access - with nobody as yet finding a way to provide the telephone or data connections involved completely free of charge.
That said, prices have fallen with some Internet Service Providers (ISPs) offering unlimited dial-up access, faster connections through broadband technology, virus scanning and lots more lot for a fixed monthly charge.
Originally, many ISPs made money by taking a proportion of the call costs. There was no monthly subscription but users had to pay local call rates, meaning the bill grew with every extra minute spent online. Complaints that this was holding back Internet use coupled with pressure on margins and it was this that spurred most ISPs into offering tariffs that now give unlimited use for a fixed price.
Making internet access available to everyone in the UK is also firmly in the minds of our politicians with the three main parties continually stressing its importance in our lives.
INTERNET SERVICES INDUSTRY - AN OVERVIEW
Introduction
The state-owned Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) launched Internet Services in India in August 1995. For the first four years, VSNL was the sole provider of Internet Services in the Country. In November 1998, the Government ended VSNL’s monopoly and allowed provisioning of Internet Services by Private Operators. The Terms and Conditions of the ISP’s License were unusually liberal with no License Fee and allowed unlimited number of players. ISPs could set their own tariffs and even their own International Gateways.
DoT issues three types of licenses – Category ‘A’ for all-India operations; Category ‘B’ for metros and state - level circles, and Category ‘C’ for medium and small cities (SDCAs). Presently there are 390 License holders, 64 in Category ‘A’ and 135& 191 each in Category ‘B’ and ‘C’. About 189 licensees have started their operations.
The Internet is certainly a major phenomenon in India today. Everywhere one looks, the signs of its arrival and adoption are visible. In fact it is being universally recognized that as the Internet proliferates, so will E-Commerce and E-Governance and E-Business. It is, therefore, in our National interest to boost the expansion of Internet Services in the Country. This will not only help our country to become a part of emerging global E-economy, but will also enable the citizens to avail of the benefits arising out of IT enabled services.
Initiatives by the Government
The New Telecom Policy, 1999 (NTP ’99) stipulates targets in terms of establishing Telecom Network with a view to achieve tele-density of 7 per 100 by the year 2005 and 15 per 100 by the year 2010. The NTP ’99 also stipulates targets for providing Internet Access to all District Headquarters by the year 2002. In addition, the Government has initiated various pro-active measures in the proliferation of the Internet Services in the Country. Some of the important initiatives are as under :
• ISP License is one of the most liberal License, wherein no License Fee has been levied on the ISPs till 31st October 2003.Thereafter, a token license fee of Rs. One per annum is payable w.e.f. 1st November 2003.
• There is no restriction on the number of Service Providers in all the three categories i.e. ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’.
• ISPs have been permitted to set up International Gateways by having business arrangement with Foreign Satellites Providers and Collaborators.
• ISPs have been permitted to provide last mile access using Radio and Fiber Optics.
• ISPs have been permitted to provide ISP Services through Cable T V Infrastructure / Operators.
• The Government has initiated an ambitious plan to developed National Internet Backbone (NIB) in the country.
• 100% FDI allowed through automatic route to the ISP (without gateways), 74% in case of ISPs setting up International Gateways.
• ISP's permitted to set up Submarine Cable Landing Stations either singly or jointly in collaboration with International Undersea Bandwidth Carriers.
• National Long Distance Services opened to private sector on non-exclusive basis.
• International Long Distance Services opened up to private sector on non-exclusive basis w.e.f. April 1, 2002
• Implementation of IT Act, 2000.
• Internet Telephony Services opened up to ISPs w.e.f. April 1, 2002.
• De-licensing of W-LAN in 2.4 Ghz band using IEEE 802.11b technology
• Reduction of Performance Bank Guarantee by 50% for Category A & B ISPs and 33% for Category C ISPs.
Since 1995, a number of countries have permitted VOIP as a technology option to the classical PSTN as well as Internet Telephony so as to provide a cheaper alternative to classical PSTN calls. In India, the ISPs were allowed to offer Internet Telephony Services with effect from April 1, 2002. With the choice availability of Toll Quality (PSTN) and Non-Toll Quality options, Internet Telephony has thrown open Long Distance Telephony to those sections of Society, which could not afford the same earlier. Further, Internet Telephony is proving to be a key driver for local entrepreneurs to set up Community Information Centers / Cyber-kiosks / Internet Dhabas, etc even in small towns and villages. In fact it has made distance learning, Tele-medicine and e-governance etc a reality in Indian context.
More than 90 ISPs have been granted license for offering Internet Telephony Services. There has been a substantial growth in the Cyber Café / Cyber Dhabas offering Internet Telephony Services. It is expected that Internet Telephony will provide fillip to the demand for network facilities including bandwidth, last mile access and other connectivity resources and bridging the digital divide within the Countr. However, an important issue needing immediate attention is tackling the Internet Telephony Grey Market which is estimated to be about 90 per cent of the total Internet Telephony market in India and requires concerted efforts by Government and industry. It is imperative that all leading ISPs including VSNL, BSNL and MTNL join hand to tackle the menace.
Some Interesting Findings By Survey on Internet
• Over 78% of the Internet Users are in the age group 18 – 39 years and 75% of the Internet Users are Males.
• The Capital Cities (New Delhi and Other State Capital) accounts for 79% of Internet Connections of the Country.
• More than 86% of top Corporate Houses have endorsed that Internet and E-Commerce is an integral part of their corporate strategic framework.
• Over 76 % of the Internet Users use E-mail Services
• Over 61% of the Users Access Internet from school, colleges, place of work and Cyber Cafes while 27% access Internet from homes.
• Among the career conscious and education driven middle class, Internet is seen as critical to success in professional life.
• There are approx 59 million telephone connections (including Mobile) and 8.5 million PC base in India.
There are approx. 47 million Cable T V Connections out of 92 million TV Sets in the Country.
Open the floodgates of innovation
By Sabeer Bhatia
In the early 70s, the Internet had a humble beginning in a US defence research organisation called DARPA. Then on, the Internet has grown into a truly ubiquitous network that touches the life of every human being, directly or indirectly.
The growth in Internet usage did not happen in a steady manner. The inflexion point happened in the late 90s precipitated by two innovations—the availability of the ubiquitous Web browser and e-mail services such as Hotmail. Since then, the Internet has evolved into a platform for free speech that is now accessed by nearly a billion users worldwide, and its influence and impact on communications, commerce and intellectual freedom is unprecedented.
In India too, the Internet has taken root and grown along many fronts in the past decade. But it has been like the proverbial curate’s egg—good in parts, bad in others. It opened up opportunities for consumers—the medium could be leveraged to achieve social, business and development objectives—and for software creators to craft technology solutions based around the Internet to establish India as a powerhouse for innovation.
India’s performance on the first front has been middling. The Internet user population in India is estimated at around 25 million. While this might seem a large number, relative to the global Internet population and to India’s total population, it is an anaemic figure. Also, this growth is concentrated almost exclusively within large cities.
There are several reasons for this low penetration. The first, I believe, is the role of the government. Contrary to popular belief, the Internet is not a development that came out of R&D labs. It was the US government that took the lead in establishing the Internet. But, once the diffusion of the Internet was precipitated and the industry stepped in, it reduced its hold and stepped back.
Historically, the Indian government has impeded the Internet with a combination of studied indifference and myopic government monopoly policies. For instance, in the matter of allowing Internet Telephony—the policy in India allows only the ISPs to offer Internet Telephony and that too in a very restricted manner. This is detrimental to the interests of consumers because it does not allow them to enjoy the full benefits of innovation in technology.
In my travels around the world, I am often asked a question: "Could you have done Hotmail in India?" And my answer has inevitably been, "No!" Had I attempted to create Hotmail in India, somebody would have come to me claiming that I was taking away the revenues of phone or fax companies!
The Internet can be a powerful democratising force, offering greater social, economic and political participation to communities that have traditionally been overlooked.
There have been a few instances of state governments and corporates taking initiatives to reach out to these stakeholders—the e-Choupal initiative and a successful e-governance experiment using Wi-Fi in Tiruvarur—but they have been sporadic and insufficient. People cite, mistakenly, a number of reasons to explain the lack of penetration. These range from the high cost of PCs to the lack of connectivity in villages. I do not believe these are limiting factors.
While there have been several attempts to bring down the cost of PCs to an affordable level, these efforts have been largely misplaced. I do not believe that bringing down the cost of a PC, to say Rs 10,000, would magically facilitate a ‘tipping point’ that would unleash wide adoption.
The growth in cellular phones in India is a heartening phenomenon and the price and pervasiveness of these devices throw up the possibility of adapting them as Internet access devices, obviating the need for PCs.
Mobile networks, that are increasingly pervasive in India, will provide the last-mile channel for individuals to access the public Internet network and these will increasingly be broadband in nature. To boot, Internet access can be provided by upgrading the many privately-run public telephone offices in the country today.
To achieve success in terms of pervasive Internet diffusion, endemic illiteracy should be tackled. We must facilitate literacy to harness the collective intellectual potential of our country. We cannot merely depend on the government to tackle this problem. NGOs such as Room to Read and Round Table India work to solve the illiteracy problem and I urge each one of you to contribute your time and money towards allying with such organisations and make a difference.
WHAT IS BPO?
Business Process Outsourcing is the long-term contracting out of non-core business processes to an outside provider to help achieve increased shareholder value.
Many IT professionals are familiar with the term business process outsourcing (BPO), but knowing how to distinguish it from other types of outsourcing requires some scrutiny.
Though some forms of BPO may include both IT management and business operations, the approach is primarily about turning over functions such as payroll, accounting, billing or even real estate management to a third party. Though these business processes may depend on IT, they are separate functions from core IT operations, such as data center activities or network management.
1 Free Your Resources and Work On Your Strategy
An important aspect of business process outsourcing is its ability to free corporate executives from some of their day-to-day process management responsibilities. Traditionally, executives spend 80 percent of their time managing details, and only 20 percent on strategy. Once a process is successfully outsourced, the ratio can be reversed. Executives get more control over their most valuable resource: time. Time to explore new revenue streams, time to accelerate other projects, and time to focus on their customers.
2 Improve Processes - Save Money
Companies that outsource business processes are often able to reengineer those processes and capture new efficiencies. Then they can reallocate resources to other important projects and leverage their investment in technology. For example, processes that are handled in a shared production environment for multiple companies save everyone money. In most cases, high-caliber subject-matter experts are brought in to design and manage these processes, bringing with them best practices, innovation, and years of experience that most companies don't have access to or can't afford on their own.
3 Increase Your Capabilities
With this expertise often comes increased capability. In addition to doing things more efficiently, you can expand your ability to deliver new products and services to your customers. Then there are the factors of scalability and scope. Companies that want to grow internationally must continuously invest in infrastructure and find talent around the world. Many outsourcing providers are already established globally and can help make the growth process run smoothly.
BENEFITS OF BPO
Improve productivity and operational efficiencies
Non-core business processes, such as human resources and finance and accounting, are critical, but also resource-intensive, time-consuming, and costly. Outsourcing improves operational efficiencies and drastically reduces costs without large, up-front capital investments
Reduce costs
BPO provides quantifiable benefits through improved efficiencies, lower overhead, reduced payroll and benefit expenses, and fewer capital investments.
Allow organizations to focus on their core business
BPO allows organizations to move non-core business processes to a services provider so that they may focus on the more important strategic, revenue-generating programs that create profitable growth and sustain business success.
Ensure best practices, skills, and technology
BPO provides access to proprietary workflow systems, process reengineering skills, and innovative staffing and delivery models, combined with world-class technology delivered by experts.
Provide access to scalable operations and on-demand resources
BPO provides the flexibility to respond to a rapidly changing marketplace and scale operations up or down as conditions dictate. In a BPO engagement, Go4BPO delivers access to global staff, processes, resources, and technology-wherever and whenever they are needed.
Strengthen clients’ competitive position
Organizations must leverage a BPO strategy to improve their financial and competitive positions and differentiate themselves from competitors. BPO results in increased customer satisfaction, more efficient operations, access to global capabilities, increased cash flow, and faster time-to-market.