The 18th Convergence India 2010 event, held in Delhi from March 23 to March 25, showcased cutting-edge technologies and provided a forum for discussions on the trends in the Indian and international telecom industries. The theme of the event was, “Digital Convergence: Empowering a Billion Lives”.
Over 450 participants from 20 countries representing the telecom, information technology (IT), broadcast, media and entertainment, green technology, cable, satellite, internet protocol (IP) surveillance and information security sectors gathered at the event to showcase their technologies, products, applications and services.
Convergence India 2010 was timely for the telecom industry as it was held a fortnight before the 3G auctions, scheduled for April 9, 2010, and provided a platform for exhibitors to showcase their 3Gspecific products.
Inaugural event
Inaugurating the show, Gurudas Kamat, minister of state for IT and communications, said, “Telecommunications has emerged as a springboard for information and communication technology (ICT) applications with an economy-wide impact.” Endorsing the minister’s view, R. Chandrashekhar, secretary, Department of Information Technology, Ministry of Communications and IT, stated, “There has been a huge surge in the innovation of services riding on the wave of convergence and the mobile revolution.”
Kamat stated that the mobile teledensity, at 47.88 per cent, has reached the expected level and that the regulatory regime and innovations by private players have made it possible for the industry to witness such a huge upsurge in mobile subscribers.
“Providing technology benefits to 70 per cent of the rural population has always been at the forefront of government policies. While formulating the policies, we bear in mind that the best telecom technologies are available to underprivileged sections too. The rural teledensity was 21.19 per cent at the end of 2009,” Kamat said. The minister also emphasised the need for region-specific services to facilitate greater penetration of mobile services.
The government wants telecom operators to provide 3G services for the betterment of the people, especially in the rural areas, and offer applications that can help in providing education, health and banking services to the rural poor, rather than offering high-end revenue-oriented entertainment services to the urban rich. Telecom operators are banking on 3G services to bridge the urban-rural gap.
Emphasising the need for additional spectrum, Kamat said that making available the desired spectrum would enable service providers to increase their subscriber base, but it was important to use it judiciously.
The ministry wants the industry to further reduce mobile handset prices to make them affordable for the rural population. “As mobile phone usage booms in urban India, availability of cheap handsets will be a boon for the low-income category,” the minister noted.
According to Chandrashekhar, the government has massive plans for the expansion of the manufacturing industry. “There will be ample opportunities for manufacturers in India. The government is devising ways to step up manufacturing. A number of packages are being planned to augment the value of the manufacturing industry to $300-$400 billion from the current $20 billion,” he said. He further added that the government was looking to meet the domestic requirement of ICT-enabled products through indigenous manufacturing.
Debates and conference sessions
Aside from giving exhibitors an opportunity to showcase their products, the event also hosted several debates and conference sessions on new strategies in telecom, IT and broadcasting. Speakers debated on the trends, challenges and solutions for the industry’s progress.
On the first day of the event, industry experts debated the impact of the delay in spectrum allocation and the future of data services in India. Reducing capex and opex was also a key topic of discussion. The panel, which included Rajat Mukarji, chief corporate affairs officer, Idea Cellular; Sharat Chandra, president and chief operating officer, strategy and new technologies, GTL Limited; and R.N. Padukone, principal general manager, corporate planning and monitoring, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, agreed that the delay in spectrum allocation would have a negative effect on the industry. However, Padukone added that the time taken for spectrum rollout was necessary to put a strong system in place.
A common point of interest was infrastructure sharing. Rajiv Bawa, executive vice-president, corporate affairs, Uninor, stated, “The Indian market provides a lot of opportunity for operators. There’s so much to be done apart from voice services. Operators need to reduce costs even if the means is sharing of assets. In fact, assets owned by public sector units should be allowed for private use.”
Companies such as Ericsson, NDS India and Advance Digital Broadcast participated in a panel discussion on emerging issues in multi-operator environments such as tariff wars and declining average revenue per user. The session on “GSM & CDMA ?? The Future of Wireless Business”, brought together speakers from Bharti Airtel, Telcordia Technologies, the Centre for Development of Telematics and the Cellular Operators’ Association of India to discuss network transformation issues and emerging applications.
The conference session, titled “Redefining Broadband”, highlighted the importance of increasing broadband penetration in the country, which currently stands at 15 per cent. The remaining 85 per cent represents a ready market for wireless broadband applications, which will be more accessible with the growth of wireless technologies. Ashish Sharma, vice-president, corporate market development, Alvarion, identified the key emerGing applications as internet service, video surveillance, data monitoring and control, mobile police force, tele-medicine, traffic management, e-learning and passenger information systems for public transport.
3G was one of the most discussed topics. As operators prepare to launch 3G and Wi-Max services, application providers are also innovating with valueadded services (VAS) and technologies that enable devices to offer converged services on the go to mobile consumers. A paradigm shift in India’s communications services is taking place, with voice calls becoming virtually free while new revenue streams are generated from VAS. These developments are creating opportunities for technology vendors as well as software and service providers across the globe.
The session on “VAS and Mobitainment” outlined the opportunities for new revenue streams. PathPartner Tech released its Android 2.0-powered media phone featuring high quality-high definition display, voice call, voice over internet protocol support, social media, internet radio, games and other applications for a rich experience in voice, video communications, entertainment and media.
The transition from analog to digital technology has also set the stage for the transformation of India’s media and pay-TV market. NDS, a digital pay-TV solutions provider, showcased a range of tailored solutions for Indian pay-TV operators looking to make a transition to digital technology.
OVUM, a market research firm, released an industry white paper titled “Telecoms 2020” at the event. According to the report, by 2020, telecom networks in India would have greater reliance on wireless technology with urban centres having a wireless-led mix of 3G and 4G networks. Some operators may leapfrog from GSM to long-term evolution technology in the coming years. While urban areas will experience a rapid growth in data traffic, which will test performance, wireless networks will cater to the majority of the rural population by 2020.
OVUM predicts that small-screen mobile phones will continue to dominate in India, but will have enhanced processing ability and functionality. The device mix will include e-books, netbooks and laptops, with smartphones leading the pack.
Compared to the previous two editions, the 2010 event was certainly smaller. Big operators like Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications and Vodafone Essar, and vendors such as Motorola, Nokia Siemens Networks, Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent were conspicuous by their absence. Nevertheless, Convergence India 2010 served as a useful platform for participants to network and engage in constructive business discussions at the conference sessions and interactions.
