1. Telecommunications in India Arun Babu Helen Ezenwa Parul Parikh Ajay Patel

3. Social and Political Review n Population is 968 million n Gained independence from Britain at the same time as Pakistan - 1947 n Largest democratic nation

4. Social and Political Review Rajiv Ghandi introduced new polices in the late 80’s n foreign investment n use of modern technology n import restrictions eased n new industries established

5. Economic Background n India’s GDP is $1,250 billion u Major industries: agriculture, textiles and steel u Major trade partners: Japan, US and Europe n Strong focus towards technological growth u Economic empowerment of rural poor u Cyber cafes in rural areas

6. Government Regulation and Private Partnerships n Telecom is under the jurisdiction of the telegraph act of 1885 n In 1985 government created the DoT and DTS, under the Ministry of Communications n DoT- responsible for frequency management n DTS- telecom service provider throughout India n C-DoT- authority and flexibility to develop telecom technology n VSNL- overseas communication service, has a monopoly n TRAI- established in 1996 as a regulatory authority

7. Government Regulation and Private Partnerships n In 1994 telecom sector attracted private sector investment n Foreign investment up to 49% in basic telephone services and 51% in value added services n In each local area only one private sector to operate besides DoT n A duopoly model with ten year franchises for cellular services n Manufacturing open to the private sector since 1991 n Software technology parks are authorized to bypass terrestrial network

8. Infrastructure n 12 th largest telecom network in the world n Vast opportunities for growth (20% a year) n Low Teledensity (2.2/100) n 20 million telephones available n 3 million people on the waitlist for one year n Real market competition introduced in 1998-1999

9. Transmission Media n Microwave radio relay n Coaxial cable n Fiber optic cable n 254 earth satellite stations, 8 Intelsat and 1 Inmarsat satellite n Submarine cables n Digital gateways n Digital switches

10. Competition n Country divided into 21 telecom circles along state boundaries n Basic Telephone Services = 6 licenses n Cellular Services = 41 licenses, 22 GSM providers in operation in 18 circles n Radio Paging = 137 licenses, 16 in operation n ISP = 175 licenses

11. Issues of Universal Access n 300,000+ villages in India n Government’s goal is to provide universal access at the community level n 1 public call office for every 500 people n Private companies required to provide 10% of direct lines for village public telephones (app. 40,000 villages wired in ’98, ‘99) n Private entrepreneurs encouraged to open rural cyber cafes (all villages wired in 3 yrs)

12. Current Penetration Statistics n Almost 1 billion in total population n 22 Telephones/1000 ppl n 105 Radios/1000 ppl n 69 TVs/1000 ppl n 28 Cable access per 1000 ppl n 10 Mobile phones per 1000 ppl n 2.1 PCs per 1000 ppl n.1 Fax machines per 1000 ppl

13. Internet Usage Statistics n 2.6 million Indians with access to Internet n By 2004, could have as many as 30 million Indian Internet users n To increase Internet usage, country needs: u cheaper access rates u more cybercafes u net-over-cable

14. Future of the Internet n 100 million Indians are in financial reach of the internet n 2.6 million people have current Internet access (via offices, homes or cybercafes) n 80% of current users are males n 40% between 30-34 years old n 40% spend 20 minutes per day online

15. Implications for India n Growth of global B2B transactions n Premier software exporter in the world n Multinationals able to outsource call center functions to India n Improvement in Indian wages to possibly stem the brain drain n Increase in entrepreneurial activity n India could be a global economic force in the 21 st century n Govt needs to continue policy liberalization