The only key issue, which delays the adoption of broadband in India, is the lack of a right business model. I believe the revenue is going to come from value added services. And we need to find answers for- 'who's going to provide content? How do we ensure content security? What is the revenue model?' etc. for example, we have already started seeing trails on IPTV. But, there is no content aggregator in India for IPTV. In the West, there are for combining content from everywhere and put it together. So the ecosystem for value added service needs to be evolved in India. And we need to have clarity on regulatory issues. We also need to ensure the quality of services being delivered through broadband. The customers are already used to some experience. So the broadband players need to deliver something better than that to make them happy.

The other challenge, in India is the cost. People want high bandwidth connection in lower cost. We need to really reduce the cost.

What are the other new services that have got greater demand among broadband customers?
Apart from standard broadcast TV, VoIP, video on demand, there is an emerging need for home security applications. Now, broadband customers can actually place camera in their homes and get alerts on their mobile phone if something goes wrong. Video conferencing is another future application. As I mentioned, centralizing storage and application is the emerging trend among enterprises. A lot of revenue can be made from reality shows, MMS etc. So telecom industry has got a big role to play in driving the broadband adoption.
I believe, high bandwidth secured connection is really what broadband is all about. It can enable a lot of applications like entertainment, education and healthcare. So the content is the key and the customers need to like that content. So ultimately, customer is the kingmaker.

radhika@cybermedia.co.in