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.

Putin's popularity still high

 This article " Putin's popularity still high" I wrote appeared in the edit page of Deccan Herald on 13th October 2015. The article captures my impression about Russia and their President Putin. 

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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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Improve, innovate, implement: Smart cities' mantra

This column I wrote appeared in Deccan Herald on 20th July. Key points
1)      Smart cities is a strategic initiative, long term focused effort needed and implementation will be the KEY. We also need a short term immediate actions to be prioritized.
2)      Government must utilize the synergies between Smart cities and the Digital India program4
3)      Smart cities will be Innovation driven. Prime Minsister’s 'Mera Shahar Mera Sapna' is a great initiative for get ideas from the people.
4)      Need India specific frugal, yet high impact solutions. Just don't copy from other countries.
5)      We need a thrust on smaller local companies. Smart cities should NOT become a monopoly of a few global MNCs

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Make way for a Balanced Net Neutrality

G Krishna Kumar, a Bengaluru-based telecom executive, is also quite amused by the submission of the panel to the telcos' demand.
"It is quite amusing that even after the uproar created due to Airtel Zero, it has been given an okay by DoT panel stating that Trai (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) would take a decision on a case-by-case basis," he quipped.
Airtel Zero is a platform developed by Bharti Airtel that will charge app developers for data while consumers will get free access to it. Many believe it goes against the tenet of Net Neutrality as it will discriminate between apps.
At the same time, both Pahwa and Krishna Kumar believe that the panel's suggestions have some positives too. One of them being no licence required by over the top players (OTTs) for instant messaging services in the domestic market.
Krishna Kumar is of the view that pure Net Neutrality was just a wishful thinking.
WhatsApp should not be differentiated," he said.
"Telcos will need flexibility on cost and priority of data. While differentiation based on broad category of applications like VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), streaming, etc., is okay, we don't want specific content providers' data to be given different priority. For example VoIP apps should be given higher priority, but within the group Viber and

Monday, 20 July 2015 - 8:04am IST | Agency: dna | From the print edition

Will brand Digital India live up to expectations?

G Krishna Kumar, a Bangalore-based telecom executive, said the government needs to measure the real impact of the Digital India initiatives and draw up a clear roadmap for it.

"Grand Vision of the government must be lauded but what is important is the implementation and even if the government is able to achieve partial success over the next 3-4 years, it will be a big achievement" he said.

 According to him, "holistic implementation" of programmes under Digital India was the key to its success.
"News reports of hundreds of computers planned for helping children in government schools not being used for years due to the unavailability of skilled teachers is just one example of that implementation needs to be holistic.

Even if the initiatives are small, it must reach the intended recipients, feedback must be gathered from the end user to close the loop. Regular feedback from the citizens must be taken to claim success of any of the initiative," said Krishna Kumar.

Call Drops ! TRAI report shows the Telcos are doing Fine!

 

 

G Krishna Kumar, a Bangalore-based telecom professional, said, with a "disparity" in the findings of various agencies on call drops and the actual reality on the ground, the government should look at taking direct feedback from consumers to get the real picture.
"Looking at the disparity between what subscribers experience and what is reported by the network operators/auditors and Trai, the government should actively consider collecting customer perception or quality of experience," he said.

Krishna Kumar also called for strict parameters for measuring the quality of service for data to study whether consumers were really getting 3G and 4G data service for the rates they were paying for. "The special audit suggested by the minister is most welcome. But it all depends on how well the operators will respond to the results," he said.

 

 

Interestingly, even as grievances relating to call drops have shot up across all circles lately, as per the latest Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) report the parameter call drop rate has shown improvement during December 2014 quarter, compared with the previous quarter.
The permissible limit of call drops set by Trai is anything less than 2%. Trai's findings for the December quarter last year shows the call drop rate improved to 2.7% from 3.28% in September quarter.

Wednesday, 8 July 2015 - 6:50am IST | Place: New Delhi | Agency: dna | From the print edition