NOFN is of strategic importance: Rajiv Kapur

Recently Government of India has announced that it has completed the roll out of National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) in 20000 village panchayats. Rajiv Kapur, Managing Director, Broadcom, India in an interview with Mohd Ujaley says, “Even though there is a change in government, both the UPA and NDA have been giving equal importance to the NOFN.”

What is your view of broadband adoption in India?
The broadband adoption has been quite slow in India. The number of broadband users is still very small when compared to the large size of our population But things are now speeding up, as the operators are adopting newer technologies and diverse strategies for reaching out to potential customers. Cable operators such as Hathaway are pushing fibre to the home as the preferred way of delivering broadband services. Broadband will get a big push once the National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) project is completed. By connecting all the panchayats of the country with optical fibre network, the NOFN project will ensure that people in all parts of the country have access to affordably priced broadband. The adoption of LTE based networks will also help in the proliferation of broadband.

Can you elaborate further on the benefits that you are expecting from the successful execution of the NOFN project?
NOFN is of great strategic importance. The political leadership of the country understands the importance of this project. Even though there is a change in government, both the UPA and NDA have been giving equal importance to the NOFN. At present Optical Fibre Cable is only available in the larger towns and cities, but with NOFN there is a plan to connect all the 2,50,000 Gram panchayats in the country. This will lead to huge improvement in broadband penetration. People in all parts of the country will be able to avail of the services that are easily available on the Internet. There will be better growth prospects for the business entities. Right now the price of broadband is high, but with NOFN and other options for connectivity coming up, the price will come down. This will enable many more people to get online.

What kind of innovations is Broadcom bringing in the broadband market?
Broadcom, as you would know is the global leader and innovator in semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications. There is growing demand for high speed WiFi. In recent past, the speed has moved from 802.11N to 802.11AC. We are also witnessing a high attachment rate at the device side as well as access point side. Lot of devices are being made around mobility and there is rise in Internet of Thing (IoT). We are very excited about IoT, it is one of the growth areas for us. In high-end segment, we are highly placed and have right compelling answers and we will keep investing in devices, IoT variables and accessories.

Where do you see India in the overall Broadcom scheme of things?
Two things are very exciting about India. Firstly, it is a very well proven Research & Development (R&D) centre for us. We have seen high success of R&D projects. Cutting edge development, end to end ownership and next generation of things have come from Indian R&D. Secondly, India is one of the largest consumers of electronics products. The country has a huge population and a very high GDP growth. The electronics sector is seeing a huge growth in the country and now that IoT has taken centerstage, there is going to be even more growth in electronics consumption. In the area of electronics, India has a chance to make the mark without trying to play catch-up because unique technology requirements of India can only be understood by people who live in the country. Someone who does understand technology and the end market is the very powerful combination when it co-exists. In Broadcom, we put an engineer to understand the market so that we could bring market relevant innovations. IoT opens the door for a new wave of Made in India products. We see ourselves playing seminal role in this evolution of technology.