YASMIN TAJ

In spite of such immensegrowth, there are stillchallenges the telecom

industry faces, and there are newfrontiers that have to beconquered. The ET TelecomAwards 2013 presented by GlobalGroup, brought together sometop industry experts of the

telecom sector to discuss all thechallenges and the future ofconnecting India. The panelistsinvited for the discussion were:Sandeep Girotra, head of Indiaregion, Nokia Solutions &Networks; Chris Houghton, headof region, Ericsson India; RKUpadhyay, chairman & managingdirector, Bharat Sanchar NigamLtd; and Prashant Singhal,partner, Assurance, Telecomsector leader - EY (India). Thediscussion was moderated byManvi Dhillon, senior editor, ETNow.

India has gone from acommunications backwater tobecome the second largest andmost vibrant mobile market onthe planet. The overall mobilesubscriber base in India is almost

900 million. An offshoot of thistelecommunication growth hasbeen empowerment for thepeople; millions of citizens cannow electronically access servicesand information easily andeffectively. Slowly but surely, thetelecommunication age in India isone of a information andknowledge revolution at thegrassroots level. India's telecom

services have grown by leaps andbounds.

The fly in the ointment,however, is the connectivitypenetration; in both, broadbandconnectivity and data services.India currently has just around 30million wireline broadbandsubscribers and approximately 25million wireless Broadband (3G)data subscribers. Clearly, ourbroadband and data connectivityis lagging behind ourcommunications boom.

Kicking off the discussionDhillon asked, "So, what is thenew frontier of communications?The answer is simple - Data.About 900 million mobile phonesubscribers, but just a very smallfraction of that number are dataconsumers. So, are we on the

verge of a data explosion? Or dowe have some key ingredientsmissing which is why the datastory isn't keeping pace withvoice?"

Answering this question,Sandeep Girotra, head of Indiaregion, Nokia Solutions &Networks said that these arephases which come and go.

"When we look at the dataconsumption in India over thelast couple of years, it has beengrowing at the same pace atwhich the voice was growing inIndia about 8-9 years ago. So,

therefore, this is a phase andIndia is as hungry about dataconsumption as any other partin the world is. So, just wait."

Though broadband has beenpromising, its growth has beenslow in India. In fact India hasone of the lowest broadbandsubscriber penetration rates inAsia. With the explosive growthbeing witnessed in the smartphone segment, and thetechnological advancementwhich has already brought usthe 4G phone, it is equallyimportant that data serviceavailability keep pace with themobile handset user growth.Again, like the broadband story,here too that is not the case. Thecurrent emphasis, by the policymakers is on broadband

penetration in India. Talking about the ingredients

that are going to really propel thedata consumption story in India,Chris Houghton, head of region,Ericsson India expressed, "I thinkit is strictly because of theaffordability of smartphonedevices in India. Over time, theywill become much moreaffordable in India and then we

will see a big leap as we haveseen in other countries all overthe world."

An essential need for dataexplosion in India is abundantand affordable spectrum, and thatis what is widely missing.

Discussing the same, PrashantSinghal, partner, Assurance,Telecom sector leader - EY (India)explained, "I think it is thespectrum which is missing or thespectrum is just too expensive.We have seen that in all theauctions that have happened. Theclarity on the policy of auctiondoes not exist. Five megahertzspectrum or 22 billion dollars hasbeen paid by the industry aboutthree years ago and the industry isin a debt burden, so I really don'tknow how the people are goingto invest. Though I completelyagree that we are at early stagesof data adaption, but we mustunderstand that we have alreadygot 900 subscribers which couldactually latch on to data if people

were to invest, but where is themoney to invest."

So, is data really the biggestdriver for future revenue growthfor the telecom industry?According to RK Upadhyay,chairman & managing director,Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, "Yes itis. We have already seen the voicerevenue reaching a stage ofsaturation. We have also seen thatthere has been a huge increase indata usage in recent months.Therefore, there are ampleindications that future revenues toevery telecom operator wouldcome from data, though there area few challenges that need to beovercome. "

What are the key elements for aconducive regulatoryenvironment? According to

Girotra, there are several suchelements. "Our industry is highlydependent on a supportiveregulatory environment. So, thereare many things for whichregulatory support is required forthis industry to regain back itsvibrancy where it was 3-4 yearsago. However, we do see that inthe last couple years, theregulatory environment is startingto move in a certain directionwhich can be termed as positive."

It is, however, equally vital thatdata services also witnesscommensurate growth. While thepolicy tasks the sector withgrowth in broadband services, thesector itself needs to also look atimproving the availability andquality of the data serviceconnectivity. Both are closelyrelated, in fact, they are two sidesof the same coin. With one smalldifference that can play a criticalrole in India. Smartphonepenetration, which is criticallydependant upon dataconnectivity, can be the trueharbinger of revolution in Indiabecause it allows access toinformation, knowledge andservices electronically, via thephone handset, i.e. single pointinfrastructure investment by theconsumer. Besides which, thetelecom sector also needs to lookat new sources for growth asrevenue based purely on increasein voice or communication deviceusers slows down as the tele-density reaches near saturationlevels. Besides which globally,data-users tend to result in higherthan average revenue per user forthe telecom service providersthan merely voice users. All in all,data services may be the keygrowth point for both, users andservice providers.

A CONSUMER CONNECT INITIATIVE ADVERTORIAL & PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

Some top industry experts of thetelecom sector discuss all thechallenges faced by the telecom sectorand the future of connecting India

From left : Sandeep Girotra, head of India region, Nokia Solutions & Networks; Chris Houghton, head of region, Erics-son India; Manvi Dhillon, ET Now; RK Upadhyay, chairman & managing director, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd andPrashant Singhal, partner, Assurance, Telecom sector leader - EY (India)

Here's a look at what makes the awardees of the third edition of the ET Telecom Awards winners in the truest sense

India is as hungry

about data consump-

tion as any other part

in the world is

SANDEEP GIROTRAhead of India region, NokiaSolutions & Networks

Future revenues to

every telecom opera-

tor would come from

data

RK UPADHYAYchairman & managing director,

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd

Once, smartphone

devices in India

become more afford-

able, data consump-

tion will see a big leap

CHRIS HOUGHTONhead of region, Ericsson India

We have got 900 sub-

scribers which could

actually latch on to data

if people were to invest

PRASHANT SINGHALpartner, Assurance,Telecom sector leader - EY (India)

Global Master Class on

‘Connect India - From Evolution to Revolution’

Idea Cellular Ltd - Idea Smart Gas SolutionAn OIL PSU's logistical struggle; a consumer'snightmare; and a hoarder's dream project -the LPG Booking and Delivery system in Indiahas been marred with several loop holes overthe last many decades. In came the 'IdeaSmart Gas Solution' which offered end-to-endsolution to the Top Oil PSUs in India, enablingsmooth booking to billing to delivery services,while getting rid of several distribution mal-practices and offering convenience to over 50million end customers!

WINNING STREAK

THE

INNOVATIVE PRODUCT -ENTERPRISE

Navanit Narayan, chief service delivery officer, Idea Cellular Limited, receiving the award for Innovative Prod-uct - Enterprise category from Chris Houghton, head ofregion, Ericsson India and Arunabh Das Sharma, presi-dent, Bennett, Coleman & Co Ltd

iKen Solutions Pvt Ltd (an IIT Bombayresearch spin-off) - MoogaMooga is a platform that enables and deliversautomated, integrated and operationalintelligence. It uses Hybrid ArtificialIntelligence techniques and analyses oneentity at a time, that is on an N=1 basis. Theirapproach helps organisations to enablehuman, knowledge and data drivenintelligence. Mooga is currently being used intelecom for consumer analytics - to offer eachcustomer a holistic experience.

INNOVATIVE PRODUCT -TELECOM SOFTWARE

Rahul Prakash, VP, Business (2nd from right) and RajatWalia, VP, Strategic Projects (extreme right), iKen Solu-tions Pvt Ltd, receiving the award for Innovative Product -Telecom Software category

Altruist Technologies Pvt. Ltd. - RozgarSewaStarted with a clear objective of improvingthe earning potential of semi-skilledmanpower, which In India is the largestbut highly unorganized jobs market.Rozgar Sewa is a user friendly multilingualMobile based voice product for bluecollared "Job seekers" and "Job providers".The service works on the concept ofbridging the gap between job seekers &employers by using the ubiquitous device"mobile".

INNOVATIVE PRODUCT - VAS

Mankesh Dadhwal, director - operations, Altruist Tech-nologies Pvt Ltd, receiving the award for Innovative Prod-uct - VAS category

Tejas Networks Ltd - TJ1400 PTNTJ1400 PTN" is a data networking telecomproduct that enables new age dataservices like high speed Internet, VOIP,Video conferencing, IPTV and onlinegaming over an optical fiber infrastructure.It combines innovative packet capabilitieswith ease of operation, greater networkresilience and software intelligence toprovide a low capex and low opexnetworking backbone solution for telecomoperators.

INNOVATIVE PRODUCT - OEM

Neelgandan PG, group director, R&D (extreme left);Rupinder Singh, director, Sales (2nd from left); and DrKumar N Sivarajan, CTO (centre), Tejas Networks Ltd,receiving the award for Innovative Product - OEM category

Clay Telecom - Clay Value PlusClay Telecom is a first-of-its-kind fusionproduct allowing unlimited call value with aprepaid amount for a traveller's market tohelp them stay in control while travellingabroad.

INNOVATIVE PRODUCT - VOICE

Gaurav Dhawan, executive director (2nd from right) andDevendra Dhawan, managing director (extreme right),Clay Telecom, receiving the award for Innovative Product -Voice category from Sandeep Girotra, head of India region,NSN and R Sundar, director, The Times of India Group

RailTel Corporation of India Ltd - NationalLong Distance (Voice & Data)It aids to proliferate telecom services of highquality with reliable and affordable networkavailable in all parts of the country, includingin rural and remote areas. It serves as aneutral telecom operator for all strategic andsocial needs for bandwidth in the country.

TRUSTED CARRIER OF THE YEAR

RK Bahuguna, chairman & managing director (2nd fromleft), RailTel Corporation of India Ltd, receiving the awardfor Trusted Carrier of the Year category

OMC Power - Micropower PlantsOMC extracts energy from renewable sourcesand uses it to power both mobile networksand rural communities. They call itMicropower - small-scale energy with localgeneration and distribution.

OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE -TOWER DEVELOPMENT

Sushill Jiwarajka, co founder & chairman, OMC Power,receiving the award for Operational Excellence - TowerDevelopment category from RK Upadhyay, CMD, BSNLand Ashok Sud, secretary General, AUSPI

PH

OTO

S: VIN

OD

KU

MA

R

THE ECONOMIC TIMES, MUMBAI, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2013

>>

pg 8

YASMIN TAJ

The third edition of TheEconomic Times TelecomAwards presented by the

Global Group was held in ascintillating ceremony onSeptember 6, 2013 at the TajPalace, New Delhi and wasattended by some of themost noted and eminenttelecom personalities andindustry people. Theseawards are an ultimatecelebration of excellence andbenchmark for the higherstandards of innovation in theextremely competitivebusiness of telecom.

The Indian telecom sectorhas registered phenomenalgrowth during the past fewyears and has emerged as thesecond largest network in theworld. Telecommunicationshas changed the landscape ofIndia. Since the early 1990swe have seencommunications in India growfrom around a few millionland phones to reach asignificant majority (75%) ofthe country's 1.2 billionpeople.

Today, with a mobile phonesubscriber base of around 900million and a mobile servicesmarket that is expected totouch Rs 1200 billion in 2013,the Indian telecom industry hastruly championed a low costwireless revolution. This hasbeen possible due to theconstant efforts and innovationthat has been led by thestakeholders in the telecomindustry. The ET TelecomAwards presented by the GlobalGroup presents a credibleplatform that truly honours theprimary stakeholders in thetelecom sector who haveventured into the unknown andhave created products and

services which are bothinnovative and competitive. Theawards recognise, appreciate,applaud and crown the best ofthe best from India's telecomindustry.

Setting the tone for theevening,Arunabh DasSharma,president,Bennett,Coleman & CoLtd expressed, "We started thisaward to celebrate excellenceand set benchmarks for higherstandards of innovation in whatat best can be described as achaotic marketplace as far as

telecom is concerned. What weall do know is that the telecomindustry has witnessedabsolutely unparalleled growth.The figures are staggering. Mostimportantly, over the last fewyears, telecom has really beenthe poster boy that has almostmirrored and become a proxyfor India's growth. So,whenever, people would talkabout India's growth story,telecom would be one of theindustries that would always bementioned as a success andbecause of that success, India's

growth story has come about.Having said that, it has faced itschallenges in the past fewyears. Some of those challengeshave been regulatory; somehave been hyper-competitiveness; and some

have been thepolicies thegovernment,etc. have set.And therefore,I think it is time

where the industry is facingsome unique challenges, but itcan only be a sustainableindustry when regulators andoperators and infrastructureproviders come together andhave a discussion in terms ofhow this industry can be madesustainable and how thisindustry can continue to growbecause this is something thatis in the best interest of all ofus, not just people of thisindustry, but also peopleoutside who have seen theirlives literally transform byusing mobile telephony. So, asIndia's largest business daily, itbehoves us to create suchplatforms where we are ableto bring together multifariousgroups and really cometogether with a conversationthat would really make sensefor the industry."

A total of 16 awards weregiven away during the courseof the evening. An advisorycouncil comprising some of

the most prominent voices ofthe telecom industry guidedthe development of theawards agenda with valuableinsights on the awardcategories, event format andjury composition. The eveningdid not only honourinnovators and geniuses ofthe industry, it also held athought-provoking session onhow the industry shouldprepare to face challengesand move forward. TheGlobal Master Class was thehighlight of the evening thathad some of the best mindsin the telephony sectorbrainstorming what are someof the areas that will createsustainability for this industry.

Das Sharma further shared,"We also tried to look athonouring the trulyinnovative policies,programmes, campaigns, etc.that this industry putstogether. This industry is oneof the biggest consumerproducts because it touchesthe lives of 900 millionpeople. So, it is here tohonour all these people, theactivities they do, theirendeavours and really givethem a pat on their back forservices well rendered fortheir companies as well as forthe industry in general."

The awards ceremony wasattended by an audience ofmore than 200 people andengaged and entertained theparticipants with plenty ofinsights for the road that liesahead for the telecom sector.

A CONSUMER CONNECT INITIATIVE ADVERTORIAL & PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

The third edition of The Economic Times Telecom Awards presented by theGlobal Group saw the who's who of the telecom industry recognise,

appreciate, applaud and crown the best of the best from this ever-growingsector for their excellence

(L-R) Sanjeev Chachondia, operating partner, New SilkRoute Advisors; Anil Singhvi, chairman, Ican InvestmentsAdvisors; Shrinath Bolloju, group COO, Deutsche Bank, India

(L-R) Aruna Jayanthi,CEO, Capgemini India; Rahul Shukla, man-aging director, Head of Corporate Banking - Citi; Deepak KumarChatterjee, MD & CEO, SBI Funds Management Pvt Ltd; Ghyanendra Nath Bajpai, chairman, Intuit Consulting Pvt Ltd

(L-R) Alok Shende, founder & director, Ascentius; Sunil Patil,director and faculty (telecom), Symbiosis Institute of TelecomManagement; Ajay Upadhyay, chief operating officer, Percept Limited

(L-R) Sanjay Mandavkar, president & managing director,Corporate Finance, Yes Bank; Rajesh Jindal, chief operatingofficer, Travelguru; Dhiren Savla, CIO, VFS Global ServicesPvt Ltd

Cisco - Cisco Education Enabled Development(CEED 2700)Conceived, designed and developed out of the CiscoGlobalisation Centre in Bangalore, the CiscoEducation Enabled Development ("CEED") platformhas been built for emerging markets and rural areasin particular. Deriving synergies from technology,process and business innovations, it overcomes theshortage of quality teachers and skilled instructors inrural areas. For the vast, resource constrainedgeographies, this solution delivers live video andvoice interaction between a teacher or instructor anda student.

INNOVATIVE PRODUCT - RURAL

Ajay Krishnan, director - business development (2nd from right)and Sunder Venugopal, principal engineer - engineering (extremeright), Cisco, receiving the award for Innovative Product - Ruralcategory from Chris Houghton, head of region, Ericsson India andArunabh Das Sharma, president, Bennett, Coleman & Co Ltd

Vodafone India Limited - Internet is Fun onVodafoneThe campaign objective is to drive trial of the Rs 25Internet pack by improving quality of awarenessand thereby driving relevance for Internet on themobile. There was seamless execution across 360degree media since audience got exposed to onenew service/proposition every week via the TVcommercial, and all media vehicles worked likeclockwork to change the messaging every weekacross, outdoors, print, radio, digital apart from TV.

EXCELLENCE IN MARKETING

Vivek Mathur, chief commercial officer, Vodafone India Limited,receiving the award for Excellence in Marketing category fromAgnello Dias, co-founder and chief creative officer, Taproot India

Idea Cellular

MY FAVOURITE SERVICE PROVIDER

Sashi Shankar, CMO, Idea Cellular Limited, receiving the awardfor My Favourite Service Provider category

MTS India - Memory on DongleMemory on Dongle is a device based programmewhich leverages the USB dongle as a deliveryplatform for Telecom Applications, Solutions andValue Added Services. Memory on dongle enhancesthe Internet experience of the user by providingtargeted, relevant and customised content and isalso instrumental in creating new monetisationopportunities for the operator following an eco-system approach.

INNOVATIVE PRODUCT - DATA

Sandeep Yadav, executive director, Data Business, MTS India,receiving the award for Innovative Product - Data category

Tikona Digital Networks Pvt Ltd - Tikona SecuredWireless BroadbandTikona pioneered a 4 Mbps wireless broadbandsolution for heavy usage multi-user homes, at abreakthrough capex per subscriber, which is 1/7ththat of wireline and a operating cost which is1/5th that of traditional macro-cell wirelessnetworks, by using ultra energy efficient and eco-friendly small cell network infrastructure, to createa financially viable broadband service that can berolled out to millions of unconnected householdscountrywide.

INNOVATIVE PRODUCT - BROADBAND

Prakash Bajpai, CEO & managing director, Tikona Digital Net-works Pvt Ltd, receiving the award for Innovative Product - Broad-band category

WhatsApp

MY FAVOURITE COMMUNICATION APP

Sonia Dhawan, One97 Communications Ltd receiving the awardon behalf of WhatsApp, for My Favorite Communication App category

Infozech Software Private Limited - Energy TrackingServiceEnergy Tracking Service, Infozech's unique managedservice offering in Saas Model that enables telecom towercompanies to monitor and optimise their high cost ofenergy and diesel consumption and improve overalloperational efficiency.

INNOVATIVE MANAGED SERVICES - OEM

Ankur Lal, CEO (centre), Vishesh Gupta, CBO (2nd from right), SanjeevGoel, CMO (extreme right), Infozech Software Private Limited, InfozechSoftware Private Limited, receiving the award for Innovative Managed Ser-vices - OEM category from RK Upadhyay, chairman & managing director,Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Ashok Sud, secretary general, Associationof Unified Telecom Service Providers of India (AUSPI)

RailTel Corporation of India Ltd. - Broadband atPanchayats & IT infrastructure at GramPanchayatsRailTel believes that rural India can be upliftedthrough education, employment and better primaryhealth services and thus, has undertaken CSRactivity to address these issues at grass root level. ITinfrastructure at Gram Panchayats bridges thedigital divide and helps students, local youth aswell as patients in rural areas.

SOCIAL INITIATIVE

RK Bahuguna, CMD (2nd from right), RailTel Corporation of IndiaLtd and his colleagues, receiving the award for Social Initiative cate-gory from Sandeep Girotra, head of India region, Nokia Solutions &Networks and R Sundar, director, The Times of India Group

ET TELECOM AWARDS 2013:CELEBRATING EXCELLENCE

WINNERS OF PUBLIC POLL CAMPAIGN

As part of the ET Telecom Awards 2013, six lucky winners werechosen for participating in the public poll campaign, which was

conducted nationally, with the use of social media. We would liketo congratulate the winners and thank all the participants for theirenthusiastic participation. The 6 lucky winners of Tablet Pcs are:

● Amit Sarda - UP ● Bheema Bhat - Karnataka● Sanni Kumar - UP ● Anita Jagdale - Maharashtra

● Sanjeev Sethi - Chhattisgarh ● Omprakash Kanoongo - MP

Process advisor and officialtabulator for ET Telecom

Awards 2013, Ernst & YoungLLP sifted through over 130entries in the form of case

studies in innovation andexcellence. Data was gatheredand validated with respect tothe applications that werereceived, in accordance with

the pre-determined set of rules and regulations. All entries were then appraised by an independent jury whoshortlisted the top

three entries in each category.A final jury then againreviewed the shortlistedentries and determined the winners.

MY TRUSTED PHONE BRAND Samsung

(L-R) M Unnikrishnan, managing director & CEO, ThermaxGroup; Anil Khanna, managing director, Blue Dart Express;Sam Balsara, chairman and managing director, MadisonWorld

SECOND JURYFIRST JURY

PUBLIC POLL

WINNERS

The public poll based awards were given tobrands that were selected through a Public Pollwhich was conducted across India by The Economic Times, through print advertisements,online polls and social networking websites.

MAKINGTHE RIGHT

CHOICE

ARUNABH DAS SHARMApresident, Bennett, Colemanand Co Ltd delivering the welcome address

MILIND BENGALICOO, business & operations,GTL Infrastructure Limited delivering the vote of thanks

Catch the coverage of the ET TelecomAwards 2013 on ET Now on September

28, 2013, Saturday at 4:00 pm and repeattelecast on September 29, 2013,

Sunday at 4:30 pm

An initiative by

PH

OTO

S: VIN

OD

KU

MA

R

THE ECONOMIC TIMES, MUMBAI, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2013

>>

pg 9