The trouble with broadband

We live in an age of broadband connectivity, or do we? While other countries have long gone into double digits when it comes to broadband penetration India is lagging far behind. Last year we were at the abysmal figure of 0.2 percent penetration and the scene hasn’t dramatically changed since then. In stark contrast the US had over 50 percent (53 percent as per the most recent report) in Q4 2006 and that US figure was the lowest among the Top 25 worldwide. In other words there are 25 nations where broadband penetration tops 50 percent and a dozen where the figure tops 60 percent.

So why is it that broadband is such a failure in this country? Is it lack of demand? Is it because there isn’t enough content online in local languages? The answers to these questions are a resounding ‘No’ to the first and a qualified ‘Yes’ to the second. There is a lot of demand, pent up demand I may add, for broadband and while the lack of vernacular content is a cause for concern it is not a show stopper.

So what is preventing broadband from getting into single, forget double, digits? The answer my friend is blowing in the wind, heck, it’s shouting in a gale of indifference on part of ISPs.

Why is it that even today after all the ballyhooing about how fiber has been laid to every office building in every city worth naming, the first reaction of any ISP if asked for a broadband connection is all too often that they have run out of ports? Or that your locality is not served?

Go wireless and you will still encounter a solid wall of disinterest. Most cellular providers not only have ridiculous bandwidth caps but their tech support is non-existent. If I had a hundred rupee note for every time I have run up against a cellular company’s support staff making some asinine suggestion about having to call from another line as they need me to turn my phone on and off to get GPRS working, I would have at least enough money for a meal at a five star.

So what is the answer to this mess? For one, the ISPs, particularly the incumbents who have the area coverage, need to wake up to two facts—people want broadband and that they must do away with download caps on entry-level plans. City-wide availability through DSL or WiMAX or whatever-else-they-can-come-up-with has to be a given. If an ISP isn’t willing to serve all areas take away their licenses. Internet access cannot be denied. It may not be a fundamental right but it is essential if we are to compete in this information age.

On a related note, I believe that 3G, as and when it arrives, will fall flat on its face with a resounding thud in India. The fact that the people rolling it out are going to be the same geniuses who charge Rs 10 per MB downloaded and make threatening calls when you exceed your post-paid limit even though you have a free allowance of 1 GB does not lead one to believe that they are going to do any better with 3G than they have done with 2.5G. The ISPs are bad but the cellular providers are worse. Kind of like the frying pan and the fire.

prashant.rao@expressindia.com