'Broadband providers need to improve quality of service'

What is the overall market scenario in the enterprise broadband
space?

Historically, the Internet service market in India was monopolized by VSNL.
However, the private players have also entered the Indian market, thereby
providing more options to the enterprise customer. While government
organizations like BSNL have focused on strengthening the backbone
infrastructure with laying of fiber optic cables, the private players have also
laid their own fiber optic network throughout the country. The primary players
in this sector have been Reliance and Bharti. As per earlier estimates, major
cities in India would have a bandwidth requirement of over 60Gbps in 2006. It is
estimated that the broadband players in the market have the capability to
provide the required bandwidth for enterprises.

What kind of broadband applications are going to be in demand
among the SMEs?

The demand for broadband in the SME market will be quite high, as more
services are being made available on the Web for this segment. A typical example
could be the online office packages on offer from Google and Zoho. If the
enterprise can become 'always connected', they can move to virtual storage
space thereby bringing down their infrastructure costs. Moreover, the advent of
such solutions means that SMEs can also look at 'always available' secure
storage for employees on-the-move. Cheaper broadband would mean that these
enterprises would be able to make better use of audio- and video-conferencing
facilities, enabling them to expand to various geographical locations through a
virtual office.

What are the solutions required by enterprises for their
broadband requirements?

The primary requirements for enterprise users would be connectivity,
security and mobility. Most providers in India have structured their services
considering these requirements. Enterprise users are looking for flexibility so
as to provide more and more services through an online platform instead of
conventional channels. From this aspect, sustainability and ability to expand
become key criteria. With this view, the broadband providers should offer
service-oriented solutions to enterprise customers.

Shipra Arora

shipraa@cybermedia.co.in