We may boast of big subscriber numbers, but we lag way behind in actual telecom usage, quality and speed
By Sanjay Gupta
The story of telecom in India is as arcane, hodgepodge and curious as the country or its billion-plus people. From interminable queues to termination charges, from the linesmen on poles to wireless access, from “chai-pani” (which literally means “tea-water” in Hindi but implies baksheesh or petty bribe) for a new connection to a scam-load of goodies for new licenses…we have seen the whole spectrum of its evolution.
Or, have we?
If one were to boast about it, India is the world’s second largest telecom market in terms of network and subscribers (it has close to 900 million subscribers). But in reality, when it comes to the actual telecom usage in India—in revenue terms, broadband use or data flow—we have barely scratched the touchscreen.
I would not like to go into how the government has made (and continues to make) the mess of a sector that, until quite recently, was the darling of investors in addition to being the beloved of the masses. But let me highlight a few sore points. (Ironically, the sector could not have flourished without government support in the first place.)
As things stand, well, they seem to be at a standstill. Or moving painfully slowly—like data on my 3G mobile network or CDMA dongle (most times).
That the state-run telco Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd declared 2007 as the year of broadband now looks, to put it mildly, premature. According to data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, as of March 2013, India had only 15 million broadband subscribers. It is true that an additional 143 million people access the Net through mobile phones, but usage is low and jarring. A recent Akamai report reveals that globally, India is ranked 74th in broadband adoption and 109th in average peak connection speed.
Poor quality mars voice calls as well. It is also not infrequent for calls to drop in the middle of conversations, and there are multiple issues with billing, usage and complaint redress.
Not that telcos are unaware of the issues. What they are facing is a continued state of uncertainty (over licensing policy, taxation, etc.) and a very crowded market with too many operators competing against each other. So we have a situation wherein we are still struggling with 2G and 3G as the developed world rolls out 4G services.
While many telcos are in the wait-and-watch mode, some of them may be quietly upgrading their networks, billing systems and other technology enablers to prepare for the next war for subscribers as well as for a more data-intensive world.
The story may have gotten muddied but it is far from over.
– Sanjay Gupta
Editor, Express Computer