(You) broadband data hogs should pay more ...

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cranky said:
Wireless is going to be the game changer in India - there is absolutely no doubt about that. Today, mobile is already one of the foremost devices for internet access and it's only going to get better or them as screens get better and speeds increase. It makes much more sense for an operator to provide wireless access, as the cost is much lower in the long term.
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I beleive the same but was unable to articulate it, so here's an idea.

If 100 million cellphones pull data will it affect the overall bandwidth usuage for the country ? ie as cellphone apps get more datahungry

If so then yes wireless will change things in the sense bandwidth costs will come down otherwise no.

This i think is the main problem, how to generate the demand so prices can be reduced as there would then clearly be a profit incentive to do so.
 
When you actually create a business, you have to balance a number of factors. Volume and demand are only the tip of the iceberg.

Businesses run by proprietors (such as Bharti, Reliance etc) have other parameters as well. Annual reports, for example. I've personally met one of these czars (net-worth over 2000 crore) and my respect for them is somewhere between a politician and a mass murderer.

Of course the sycophants who work below them are prone to run the business in a way that would suit their chances of a promotion or even just to retain their job (as opposed to actually making a long-term, viable and mutually beneficial business model). This is why the mobile and internet business in India suffers from high levels of churn. Everybody knows that - so when a new operator disturbs the parity situation, existing providers go into retention mode.

In short, the only thing that will change the situation is a 1980 'Apple' moment. I don't see that happening.
 
Even if service providers are able to put up WiMax connection in India like mobile phone it does not mean internet experience in India will develop profoundly. It will only increase internet penetration but speeds will still crawl since the cartel are allowed to fix prices for resale bandwidth. There is no regulation there.. The speeds would still crawl. Penetration of Mobile & Internet is completely different. The content varies tremendously so is the amount of data which travels over the network... WiMax alone cannot change anything, bandwidth pricing should fall further & regulated along with definition of broadband changed considering the content one wants in today's times...

About the TOI article.... Its not well written... It does not ask most questions & draws a blank on solutions... :(
 
cranky said:
Of course the sycophants who work below them are prone to run the business in a way that would suit their chances of a promotion or even just to retain their job (as opposed to actually making a long-term, viable and mutually beneficial business model). This is why the mobile and internet business in India suffers from high levels of churn. Everybody knows that - so when a new operator disturbs the parity situation, existing providers go into retention mode.
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You just told me that demand is not growing at a rate fast enough to bring on new operators :(
 
I'm not sure what you mean, but let me break it down for ya.

The demand for boradband is not growing.

The demand for internet access is moving to mobile devices, and mobile demand is still growing. Both horizontally and vertically.

Ergo, telcos are looking to wireless as a distribution medium for bandwidth.

OTOH, new telcos expected to launch soon, so more of the Uninors and Docomos.

Witness how the aformentioned two made pretty much every operator change their game to retain subscribers when these new guys launched. High levels of competition and innovation, reduction in costs, and so on.

Similar entry of new operators in broadband can help turn that market around.

But demand is not very high because usage patterns (by and large) in India do not extend to unlimited, always-on internet. We are a much more dependent, filial society with larger families and more face time (Western culture is one of isolation/independence primarily), and most services and utilities are still availed of personally rather than over the internet.

When I last saw the figures, around 40% of the overall usage was mail and another 20% was surfing. Shopping was 10%, so only around 30% was for what they called 'downloading' and 'gaming' category. That was two years ago though, so things might have changed but I'm not sure it's a significant increase.

Me go back to cave now.
 
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