5G will transform the telecom landscape, but India will have to wait

 This article I wrote appeared in the Deccan Herald , Panorama on the 8th Aug 2022. 

The article looks at global uptake in  5G and how India could fare in 5G deployment. 

We still need quite a bit of infra improvement for Indians to enjoy full 5G benefits.

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Burdened telecom sector awaits government intervention

 This article I wrote appeared in the Deccan Herald on 13th Sep. The article is about the current state of the Mobile Telephony industry in the back drop of the near bankruptcy situation for Vodafone Idea. 

1) We need at least 4-5 mobile operators based on HHI analysis

2) Can BSNL+VIL become a game changer ?

3) Satellite Broadband services must be started .This will help provide internet access to people in the remote areas where terrestrial/Mobile internet cannot be reached. 

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Much ado about banning Chinese apps

This article I wrote appeared in the Deccan Herald on 16th July 2020. The article brings out the impact of the government banning 59 apps.

1) Internet by nature should not have boundaries, there is no end to the blocking game . Will we block American apps later?

2) Just asking for alternate apps from India is not sufficient. The user experience must be best in class3) We have fundamental issues on the internet ecosystem in the country , be it stable connectivity, or policies on Data storage and Data processing. 4) Top technology institutes who were ranked high - An opportunity to task them on next generation technology research 

5) Overall an opportunity for India to test it’s strength. It is a pity that being the 3rd largest country in terms of internet users, we lack world class apps and solutions that the world will look upto.  

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Jio-FB deal: Kirana stores to benefit, but the govt must be vigilant

Some Caveats to Jio-FaceBook deal

This article I wrote appeared in The Hindu Business Line on the 8th May 2020.

While the on-boarding of kirana stores onto a digital platform like JioMart will give a fillip to these stores, the government will have to address issues of data privacy, Predatory pricing and  Net neutrality

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COVID-19: Need for improved net infrastructure

This article I wrote appeared on 2nd April 2020 in the Indian Express. 

The article focuses on the following

1) India's internet infra has significantly improved over the psat two decades and hence working from home / remote working is a possibility

2) Working from Home has not been popular in India due to Trust and cultural issues. We could see Uberization of work picking-up as a direct consequence

3) Educational institutions are adopting Virtual classes and MOOC model 

4) We are lagging behind many countries on internet speeds. A wake-up call for the government and telecom Industry to improve the Internet speeds in the country

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Ultra-low mobile tariff versus quality

This article I wrote appeared in the Indian express Edit page on 4th Nov 2019. 

The article looks at the recent events around IUC and Supreme court judgement asking Telcos to pay 92000crores after upholding the definition of AGR ( Adjusted gross revenue). 

For India to remain a key Digital economy, the government should help the telcos by  reducing  the taxes,  at the same time holding the Telcos accountable for good quality of mobile service.

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Getting BSNL off life support

This article I wrote appeared in The New Indian Express on 3rd April 2019.  Teh article mainly looks at the following:

1)  Productivity of BSNL is extremely low compared to Indian private telcos or even Chinese state owned telcos.

2) Bring professional board similar to Telstra or British Telecom.

3) BSNL has physical infra that must be leveraged , leasing or selling.

4) Right sizing is the key and it must be based on industry productivity benchmarks

5) Reskill employees and get them on the newer technologies

We need one  genuine attempt  from the government before giving it up.

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Addressing India’s 5G conundrum

This article that I wrote appeared in today's The New Indian Express edit page.

There is a lot of  buzz around 5G. The article looks at the current challenges in India and how the government can help in setting-up the right infrastructure.

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Digital India: The way forward

This article I wrote appeared in The New Indian Express and The Sunday Standard on 15th July 2018

1) Historically implementation of Telecom policies  have been a challenge. Also,  India is struggling with poor internet speeds, call drops.Perhaps government should delay the new policy and instead articulate a key actions that can impact the sector positively

2) Government should relook at BSNL/MTNL in the larger interest of the sector and the subscribers

3) Even an e-literate person struggles with e-gov websites/apps. We need for a strong platform that spur innovation that provides intuitive user experience.

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My column "India, America and net Neutrality" in the Indian Express - 25th December 2017.

India's stand on is laudable, Finally it will be a balancing act from the govt-Viable business for ISPs and ensuring superlative user experience

1) US repealing has split the internet ecosystem between the end users + Content providers ( read Face book, Amazon etc) and he ISPs ( Airtel, BSNL etc)
2)  China is known to be very strict on internet regulations, This means India can be a flag bearer for true net neutrality.
3 )India's TRAI has come with NN regulations recently. Implementation/Monitoring will be the key.
4) India's Internet speeds have a long way to go with our internet speeds just one tenth of the some of the countries.

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Will the Telecom war help you?

This article "Will the Telecom war help you?" appeared in the Indian Express on 18th Sep 2017.

The article looks at two major issues faced by the sector. - Call drops and IUC or Interconnect Usage charges.

1) TRAI's mycall App must be popularized
2) Stricter norms for reducing call drops is correct
3) IUC must be reduced, but gradually over 18-24 months
4) The Telcos must start focussing on quality of service instead of the price war

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For all the wrong reasons Reliance Jio effect ensured other telcos get busy wooing subscribers!

This article I wrote, appeared in the Financial Express FE reflect on 13th Oct 2016.

 The article looks at 

1) Goverment must ask the Telcos to get back to basics and ensure call drop issue is fixed

2) Regulatory levies SUC, IUC etc must be relooked

3) Need a mechanism for getting direct feedback from the subscribers

4) Tariff war 2.0 on Data ( Tarif War 1.0 was on Data) is welcome, but the focus must be on improving quality

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Giving BSNL a new lease of life

The article titled “Giving BSNL a new lease of life”,  Dr Sridhar and I wrote has appeared in the Hindu Business Line as a lead editorial page Article

The article discusses the assets and the preferred status of BSNL/MTNL; 

provides a 5-pronged strategy for reviving these loss making units; 

and reasons out the need for divestment of BSNL to inculcate flexible decision making and agile practices in tune with the highly competitive telecom landscape in the country. 

There are few data points on how some of the state-owned telcos in other countries like Australia or the UK have re-invented to become competitive

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Imagining life in a Connected India by 2050

This article "With smart cars, robots, life to be uber connected in 2050" I wrote appeared in the DNA news paper on 5th Feb 2015

The article tries to look at some possible
use cases in a highly connected India( We should be much better in terms of connectivity!) Some of the evolving technologies like Autonomous cars, Vehicle to Vehicle Communication(V2V), machine learning, robotics etc should help in India becoming a much better place to live.

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Happy Mobile Subscribers Key to Digital India

This article I wrote, appeared in the New Indian Express on 13th Jan 2015 Editorial page.

 

1)  India has 100 crore subscribers, but the call drop issue has sabotaged any celebration. The TRAI, government and the telcos woke-up late, and the results are already seen

 

2) Spectrum is a challenge with so many operators. Government should auction more spectrum. Data and Internet usage is going to be a bigger challenge going forward.

 

3) Net-neutrality will be keenly watched, but Quality of experience will be the critical for 2016. else we will see another uproar like the call drop issue.

 

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Google's Project Loon for India

G Krishna Kumar, Bangalore-based telecom executive, said the widening of internet user base in India will lead to Google improving its advertisement revenues, which currently constitutes over 90% of its total revenue."By enabling internet access to more people, Google's ad revenue can be strengthened," he said.

The Project Loon and Internet Sathi too will help in further penetration of internet in the country, which would translate into higher advertisement revenues for the company.

"Still over 50,000 villages in India don't have internet access and the Project Loon provides a sudden opportunity for enabling Internet access. How well Google is able to handle the operational problems that they would encounter will be critical," he said.

Krishna Kumar pointed that if the system developed by Google is robust enough then it will certainly help the government's Digital India. He said the business model between the search company and the telecom companies (telcos) would also be critical for its success.

In Indonesia, Google recently tied-up with telcos for offering Internet services through Project Loon.

"It will be interesting to see how this will play out and can provide learning for Google's plan to implement in other countries (like India)," he said.

Cybersecurity Conundrum and the Right to Privacy

My article titled "Cybersecurity Conundrum and the Right to Privacy" appeared in the Indian express on 3rd October 2015.
The uproar over "full" access to the government is  not specific to India, but is hotly debated in countries  like the UK and US.  This is a great opportunity for India specific
solution by using expertise from India's premier technology institutes. Balancing between national security without breaching privacy is the key

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India’s dropped calls conundrum

My article titled "India’s dropped calls conundrum" appeared in the Hindu Business Line on the 25th Sep 2015. 

India has woken up to the call drop issue, rather late. The situation can be improved with some sustained efforts from the government ( supporting M&A among Telcos, provide more spectrum), Regulator TRAI ( ensure accurate reporting) and the Telcos ( improve infrastructure, Towers alone may not be enough, in-building solutions would be the best)

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Will Digital India be a Dividend or Dilemma?

This article I wrote appeared in The New Indian Express editorial page.

The article points out that India's IDI (ICT Development Index) ranking is low still low at 129.

India needs a three pronged strategy -

a) Improve existing Wireless Telecommunication

b) Create an ecosystem, enable "cash less" economy, bring in transparency

c) Fast track the process of connecting the rural Hinterland  

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Getting set for the app economy

This article "Getting set for the app economy" I co-authored along with Dr V Sridhar has appeared in the Financial Express - FE/Reflect on 24th July 2015.

The article provides a preview into the app economy world-wide.
It provides a few statistics on India's app economy ( Developers, downloads, platforms etc). We also suggest a few possible areas for India in the app economy.

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