ISPs in India: Contrive to Survive
(Sometime back, the ISPs were at each other's neck fighting a price war. But, the fight now seems to have shifted towards offering unique features and services.)
-Preethi K
Tuesday, March 28, 2000
BANGLORE: "Survival of the fittest," goes the saying, making it clear that survival is possible only if a player comes up with innovative/creative ideas and services that are better than that of its competitors. Competition has become a big issue these days and survival has become difficult. The same applies to Internet Service Providers (ISP) in India that are taking giant leaps to get ahead of their counterparts in the same field. While one offers ERP on the Web, the other promises online education. And, to beat everyone to the race, ISPs have also begun offering free Internet access. Wonder what more can be given away to the customers in the name of competition and exclusive services.
The subscriber base of Internet users in India is increasing exponentially and according to a survey by IDC (India), the Internet subscriber base in India is expected to cross the one million-mark by the end of year 2000 and 7.5 million by the end of 2003. The survey also says that, there were close to half a million Internet subscribers at the end of 1999. Sometime back, the ISPs were at each other's necks in the form of a price war. But, the focus now seems to have shifted towards offering more innovative features and services. While, all service providers in general target the home users, small office home offices and corporates, their services and prices vary. Some ISPs leverage on the fact that they were the first public or private service providers in the country while the others claim that they had pioneered an idea or have exclusivity in their service/feature or are much cheaper than the other service providers.
Some features that ISPs provide are instant access through digital lines, single number access, 24-hour help desk, Internet through cable, ERP solutions, cheaper tariffs, national roaming facility, licensed value added software like eSafe, Dr. Millennium, Adobe Acrobat Reader, etc. As Bharti BT?s ISP division Mantraonline regional sales manager K.V. Gopalakrishnan says, " We would be offering mail solutions and other services like Internet through cable from the next financial year. The ERP solution we offer is a unique service where the client requires only a browser. It is an application based on the Internet and so no specifics are required." Mantraonline also offers a GIE program, which is a BT initiative, where e-commerce and other such activities, can be carried out.
VSNL, the ISP giant in the country, offers global roaming covering 150 countries, free start-up with auto dialer, free roaming at VSNL nodes and free multi-lingual word processor. Wipro Net Ltd. has launched an online learning program for corporates, offering computer courses on the Net. The service will host courses on corporate training on private and public campuses, with the content offered by computer education provider, Aptech. According to Wipro Net product manager Sunita Joseph, in public campus, any individual can become a member and can access the courses on e-commerce and management. Ms Joseph added, "In its unique role as campus manager, Wipro Net provides server management around the clock, 24-hour helpdesk for students, allows companies to create a private campus without the administrative bottlenecks. Online learning eliminates the conventional barriers of time and space across geographical boundaries." An official from Satyam Infoway also says, "Satyam Infoway is the first private ISP and is presently in 34 cities. SatyamOnline pioneered "off-the-shelf-ready-to-use" Internet connections, which come in a convenient CD bundled with Rs 6,500 worth of licensed value added software. We offer flexible use enabling better value for a night user to double his hours at the same cost." Mr Gopalakrishnan highlights on the uniqueness of Mantraonline and says, " We offer the four important Mantraonline advantages which make our services different from others. Our pedigree (Bharti Enterprises & British Telecom Venture), instant access through digital lines, single number access and 24-hour Internet help desk."
Mantraonline also provides pre-paid and post-paid dial-up access services. Pre-paid services are known as Flexi Mantra, which is available from 25 hours/75hours up to 500 hours. Post-paid service is known as Mantraease, which allows a subscriber to use the services on a monthly basis, and the bill is also raised on a monthly basis. Bharti Enterprises, the parent company of Mantraonline, is offering India's first free Internet service - 'Mantrafreenet', in Madhya Pradesh to its telephone subscribers. To beat all the above offers, Calcutta-based national ISP, Caltiger.com has started offering free Internet access and is also aiming to have the widest Internet network by December 2000 with a presence in over 100 cities in India, connected by almost 12,500 kilometers of optical fibre.
The government is also taking keen interest in promoting the Internet usage in India. It is also expected that the Indian government would generally push Internet adoption as a national policy. VSNL too has announced a series of initiatives to boost the Internet sector in the country. It has reduced its Internet tariffs, prices of its international private leased line, ISDN, etc. Moreover, the Department of Telecommunications itself is expected to jump into offering Net access in several smaller cities in a phased manner soon.
IDC (India) expects the Internet subscriber growth to be positively influenced by the adoption of unlimited Internet access model (pay a fixed amount for a period and use as much as you want during the period). A few ISPs have already announced these packages, while a them are expected to adopt this model by the end of 2000, by when, all major ISPs would be offering Internet access in mass customized packages. The Indian market has already started moving in this direction with Internet access currently available in a variety of packages, which helps the consumer to choose what is suitable. By the first quarter of 2001, most of the basic telecom service providers would start revenue sharing with various ISPs. This is expected to push the overall cost of Internet access downwards. Naturally, basic service providers also operating in the Internet access domain would be the first to adopt this model, feels IDC. Whatever way the ISP market moves in the months to come, it will to the advantage of the consumer.
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