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`Ad agencies must offer complete solutions' Vinay Kamath Sravanthi Challapalli Diwan Arun Nanda, Chairman and Managing Director, Rediffusion DY&R, talks to BrandLine on a wide range of issues.

DIWAN ARUN NANDA Coming to Chennai is always a homecoming of sorts for Diwan Arun Nanda, Chairman and Managing Director of advertising agency Rediffusion DY&R. As he says, he spent his growing up years in the city in school and later in Loyola College and has many friends in the city whom he always likes to catch up with. On a recent visit to the city, BrandLine caught up with Rediff's feisty Chairman for a chat on advertising trends, the imbroglio with Rediffusion's foreign partners over increasing their stake in the Indian agency, on the pressure for people and talent in the agency business. Excerpts from the interview: You launched Showdiff with Ravi Shastri three years ago for celebrity and event management. How has it been doing for you? We felt for a long time that sports management — not celebrity sports management — but sports events were underplayed in India. The only thing that event companies seem to get into is either cricket or endorsements of cricket players. Worldwide you'll see sports event

management is far beyond that. They take alternative sports, develop them, conduct tournaments with new ways of presenting them. I felt that the time would come very soon when that would explode as an opportunity. We wanted to have specialist event areas in the field of sports, arts, cinema, but sports was priority. We have dipped our ankles in the water; we did events in Mumbai and Delhi and have now tied up with Havas Sports, one of the largest event managers in the world. They are making presentations to the Tamil Nadu authorities on the possibilities of water sports using the Marina beach - not just a local event but a worldwide event. We are planning it now and once we have a framework we will approach the relevant authorities. We are at the stage of putting up a proposal for it. So, as you can see, celebrity endorsements are only one part of activities of Showdiff. You also launched a design consultancy just over a year ago, how is it doing? We shut it down. We floated it because of one individual who had come back from the UK - we wanted to build that around him and his capabilities - he moved on, so we closed that down. The Rediff group today offers a wide platform, from advertising to DM and healthcare communications. Are you looking at new areas such as retail to float a new wing? We have on our roster RPG Retail in Kolkata. We are working with them on strategies for their expansion but we are not setting up a separate consultancy; there is no market. Most of the players have looked at worldwide retail trends and I don't think an ad agency has anything to teach them in that sphere of retail management, either in the back end or logistics. So, you say that Rediffusion in its present set-up has all that it can offer a client, a complete solutions package? You have to do it (offer complete solutions). If you don't, you're cheating the client. When a client comes to an ad agency he believes that it will add value to his business and more importantly, he trusts you with his money, whatever the amount is ... he expects you to deliver a communications package or brand image. If we are true professionals we must look at solutions that are most cost-efficient or effective. That's our job, not the client's. When you start thinking on

those lines then you must look at all solutions beyond mass communications. Do you see Indian agencies outsourcing work in the agency business from the rest of the world, or would the reverse be true? I always see a lot of talent from the rest of the world coming here. It's starting to happen; it will become a fad. There will be people in the communication business, creative and otherwise, who will relocate to India because it's an exciting market. They are like artists, they create out of very little, and they need to be in a space where there's a buzz in the air and your adrenalin flows. I can see all that happening. At Rediff, for Microsoft in Delhi, we have got three people from abroad working in Wunderman because we need at this point of time for that client to implement the processes they are used to abroad. Lots of them are keen to come but we need to see that they are good enough! This cannot be a retirement posting! Table 1 Brand managers now go for word of mouth 18 Aug, 2008, 0000 hrs IST,Rajiv Banerjee, ET Bureau

MUMBAI: Word-of-mouth marketing has always been a popular model in penetrating markets. Opinion leaders or influencers are now becoming a critical component in the marketing strategies of new product developers and existing brand influencers like bartenders, mechanics, gram panchayats, doctors and school teachers. Even barbers are being tapped to spread the brand message—so be it an entirely new category being created or deeper penetration by existing brands.

Ultra Motors marketing director Deba Ghoshal says for e-bikes a positive word of mouth is very important. Ultra Motors is working with municipal bodies and panchayats to set up charging stations and use them to spread the benefits of using an e-bike. “We realise that these bodies influence decisions in smaller towns. So, they are effective platforms to aggregate opinion about the product,” says Mr Ghoshal. For its B2B initiative, UMC is engaging delivery boys to propagate the cost effectiveness of e-bikes to the franchisee owners. In the lubricants space, Castrol, apart from working with OEMs, is actively working with mechanics and workshops to advocate the benefits to consumers. “In the lubes business, the programme with the mechanics is a synergy between native skillsets and the expertise which Castrol brings on table,” says Castrol India ED AS Ramchander. Diageo with brands like Smirnoff and Johnnie Walker has barman club and Smirnoff Mix It programmes. “The idea behind the club was to create a community and help it upgrade its skill sets and knowledge,” says Diageo marketing director Santosh Kanekar. Companies have realised the trust reposed on influencers and have initiated customised programmes to leverage them. “Mechanics and workshops often have a loyal customer base and are important ambassadors. These influencers look forward to extending their repute through their existing franchise,” says Mr Ramchander. For example, barbers form an important constituent for Marico for the Parachute After Shower Cream. “The barber becomes the inflection point to influence the men who go for regular haircut and shave. It’s here that men discuss their hair-related problems,” says Marico marketing head Sameer Satpathy. The barber programme is spread across top six metros. Also, the company is working with doctors and schools for its Saffola and Starz brand, respectively. The positive rub off ploughs back as end-users use the brand following the suggestion from a trusted source. “In Delhi, because of our efforts, the message reached the chief minister and a subsidy of 15% on evehicles was announced. Also, VAT of 12.5% has been removed. In effect, there is a saving of nearly 28% for end-users,” says Mr Ghoshal. Mr Ramchander says that while such programmes lead to top line growth, the increase in brand

recall is what makes the effort worthwhile. “Our track record in making oils best suited for specific engines has given us credibility and additional business from influencers. For example, in the motorcycle lubes space we get about 15% of our sales from mechanics/workshops,” he says. The key is to help influencers improve their skill sets when it comes to the likes of mechanics and barbers. “One has to treat them like doctors. One can’t just influence them with incentives. They have to buy and believe in the product,” explains Mr Ramchander. Training programmes, upgrading their skill sets and tools, and imparting knowledge are critical in winning influencers’ confidence. Ad spends on the wane as companies gear up for promos 8 Aug, 2008, 0815 hrs IST,Monica Behura, ET Bureau

NEW DELHI: Ad spends are on the wane as companies are gearing up for promos to maintain that direct link with the consumer so critical in today’s fast-changing retail sphere. And with the festive season round the corner, below-the-line (BTL) activities seem to be the buzzword in every marketer’s lexicon. Around 32-33% of the total promotional budget is slated to go towards BTL promotions this year, say analysts. “In future, it will reach a ratio of 70:30, where 70% of the marketing spend will be geared to promos,” contends Consults Inc CEO Harish Bijoor. As for above the line or advertising tactics, they’re all so very expensive, particularly during a downturn.

For Samsung India deputy MD Ravinder Zutshi promos will be a “thrust area”, with 4.5% of his company’s turnover etched as marketing spend. “The ratio of BTL:ATL would be 60:40 this year as against last year’s ratio of 55:45. The BTL drive is also derived from the thrust on regional marketing, but this calls for a lot of customisation. Samsung’s Dream Home Roadshows, local language POP/POS material, regional language brochures, local language advertising are some of the activities we will carry out in all the regions,” he elaborates. A year ago, a company’s spend on advertising and promos was in the 70:30 ratio. Now, it is around 60:40, or 50:50. However, FMCG companies still go in for 90:10 or 80:20 ratio, as they are quintessentially mass products whereas since durables and electronic products are sold at multi-brand outlets and require product demonstration and frequent first-hand consumer interaction, promos are undoubtedly a better option. “ATL is very expensive and companies are looking for expenditure cuts. That is the main reason that below-the-line spending has added impetus,” says an analyst. Of the total ad spends of LG Electronics worth Rs 370 crore this fiscal, 60% will go to BTL activities while the rest will be on advertising. In the festive season, the company will spend around Rs 70 crore on better displays in retail outlets, special discount scheme, in-store demonstration, new catalogues and product launches. LG chief marketing officer LK Gupta said, “BTL promotions help build brand equity and influence the point of purchase as consumers are not satisfied with advertising alone.” Videocon marketing head Sandeep Tiwari said, “Out of the Rs 80 crore marketing budget this festive season, it would be a 50:50 deal for ATL and BTL, nearly 35% will go into in-shop demonstration.” MPG CEO Jeffery Crasto said, “Even as the media cost has been reasonable, except for certain television prime time slots, companies want to work closely through consumer touch points in retail outlets. Moreover, televison and radio media are increasingly used to promote activities in a mall or a retail outlet.” “A TV commercial would cost a company anywhere between Rs 15 lakh

and Rs 2 crore whereas spend on roadshows, discount offers, billboards is much reasonable,” says Euro RSCG chief creative officer Satbir Singh.

Changing Places Trading Roles EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE In the beginning, there was The Great Divide. Husbands went to work; housewives did house chores. Luckily now, there's the Ariel man, God's, or rather the ad industry's, gift to wife-kind. An earthier version of Cinderella's Prince Charming, he is drop dead handsome and does the most amazing things - like the laundry while his missus is away. The epitome of uxorial affection, he even spreads the good word around: ``Kuch paane ke liye kuch dhona bhi padta hai,'' he tells his friend in a rare piece of man-to-man advice replete with homespun wisdom. The Ariel man is not the lone male crusader for domestic egalitarianism in Indian commercials. Indeed, where once a man demonstrated his love for his wife by by buying her a Hawkins pressure cooker, now men actually offer to make the morning cuppa (Sunrise coffee), bathe the babies (Kodak cameras) and do the Sunday lunch (Pepsodent toothpaste). The latest to join the pack is cricketer Kapil Dev. ``Kya mard khana nahi banate?'' he asks incredulously in the latest Samsung commercial. Prototypes such as the Raymond Complete Man notwithstanding, the trend of showing men in domestic settings is a fairly recent one. What factors have contributed to this change? Eliott Moss, Client Service Director, Chaitra Leo Burnett (the ad agency that created the Ariel commercial) says: ``The opening up of the economy and the arrival of satellite technology have been the most important catalysts in bringing changes in the representation of the sexes in commercials. Images of western lifestyles and attitudes have permeated both the Indian male and female consciousness, leading to a reappraisal of traditional gender roles. This is reflected in advertising.'' Moss claims that the shift from the perception of advertising as a means of promoting a product to that of promoting a brand, has also been an important factor. Brands by their very definition stand for a certain set of values and gender equality fits in perfectly with the spirit of the 90s.

So has the New Age man really arrived? The one who cooks, does the washing up and even opts to stay at home? Says ad guru Shunu Sen (currently CEO, Quadra Advisory Pvt Ltd): ``There is enormous change in the gender equation in contemporary urban Indian society, though not necessarily of the kind reflected in advertising. The portrayal of sexual prototypes in such commercials is mostly assumed to be aspirational for the target group.'' Agrees Moss: ``In the area of gender equality, commercials generally set, rather than reflect, social trends.'' Yet is the sexual ideal of the New Age man presented in these commercials really so different from his older, more traditional counterparts? Well, the jury's still out on that one: take the recent Double Diamond tea commercial. A husband proudly greets his wife with a steaming cup of tea when she returns home. When the wife asks him the secret of this oh so perfect cuppa, our man is totally clueless (for the tea has been made by the domestic help). He stammers: ``Two cups ... no sorry, two spoons of tea, and a pinch of sugar!'' In the Samsung refrigerator ad Kapil Dev is entertaining while wife Romi is away, pleasantly surprising his friends by turning out some mouth-watering fare for dinner. Though the food has been laboriously prepared (and stacked into the refrigerator in neatly labeled jars) by his wife, Dev happily takes all the credit for the meal, even going as far as to assert men's culinary knowledge as an axiomatic truth. In a third (Peposent toothpaste) commercial, the kids feign tooth ache when they discover that papa has cooked dinner. Funny? Sure. But then any attempt to redefine traditional roles at home is almost always a joke. Or isn't it? Without doubt, the increasing portrayal of women as successful professionals in commercials points to advertisers' acceptance of a fast-evolving gender equation at the workplace. But when it comes to matters domestic, the roles remain as traditionally defined as ever. The Ariel commercial is perhaps the only exception. Here too, the husband's contribution in lightening the wife's domestic chores is in the nature of a favour, an expression of goodwill towards her which she cannot take for granted as an accepted form of their domestic arrangement. Moreover, the commercial tells us that the product is so efficient that anyone can use it. As Anthony Rose of P&G puts it: ``The TVC highlights how Ariel's superior cleaning ability takes away the burden of washing clothes and makes it so simple that anybody even a husband can get an impeccable clean using Ariel.'' Even a husband!

Conceding that commercials often reinforce gender stereotypes, Moss argues that the age-old notion of man as provider and woman as nurturer is too deeply imbedded in the Indian psyche to be dispelled easily. ``The aim of advertising is to sell a product; it cannot lead to a social revolution. In order to connect with the viewers, the commercial must have an element of truth. If we go the whole hog and show men making gourmet meals, people will tell us to do a reality check." Perhaps. But is the trend of highlighting changing sex roles in commercials likely to gain popularity in the days to come? Smiles Sen, ``The New Age man is only one more creative trigger to appeal to the consumer. If showing more men pitching in at home in commercials helps in selling a product, then this will become more widespread until the next sucessful trend comes around.'' Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd. Table 2 Mobile advertising is a very cost efficient way of providing services What recent trends have you observed in mobile social networking in India? There had been a lot of activity with regard to many of the popular social networking sites wanting to become available on mobile in Q1 of the last fiscal. We see India playing a very significant role in this space, not only because of the vast population, but also its growing demand on traditional social networking trends. What exactly are the offerings of Peekamo? Peekamo offers worldwide free SMS, mobile social networking, mobileto-mobile, mobile-to-pc, pc-to-mobile, and pc-to-pc services. Our services differ from others in many ways; however, the most noticeable differences are our worldwide service, protection of phone number, and our spam free platform. Is mobile advertising becoming a source for operators to provide VAS and content to subscribers? Mobile advertising seems to be a very cost efficient way of providing services that otherwise would have to incur huge costs. However, the trend in operator-based

Al Sajoo CEO, Peekamo

mobile advertising seems to follow many of today's web trends, in that they are mainly spam like marketing. We believe that by providing target and non-intrusive advertising to users the audience is much more captivated. In terms of new offerings and innovative technologies, what are your plans? Later in 2008 we will introduce many new ways of making our services easier and more accessible. However, our biggest offering will be our mobile software, which will save Indian users tremendous sums of money. The mobile site will enable our Indian users to use Peekamo from their phone. We are also planning to release our widget that will allow other social networks to avail Peekamo services within their offering or even fully integrate through our API. Based on the huge success of the iPhone elsewhere in the world, we believe that 2009 will be the year of mobile Web in India, and as such the launch of the iPhone in India will play a signification role in our mobile strategy. What kind of engagement do you have with operators? Are you planning to add content services as well? We currently provide access to over 540 providers worldwide. And, we are aggressively approaching service providers to ensure complete global availability of our services. Our plans to add content services will also come to play later this year. Further, there are a few unique services that we are yet to release, which will create the buzz with our users and revolutionize content services.

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This is an interesting time for the Indian online industry. Whether one looks at the number of internet users, the ad spend on internet, the value of e-commerce, the total size of venture capital funds invested in the online ventures, all of them have been growing year on year in the country. Mahesh Murthy, founder and CEO of Mumbai-based search engine marketing firm Pinstorm, estimates that the internet attracted over Rs 600 crore of advertisers’ money in 2007 which is about twice of what it was in the previous year, and about half as much as what it would be this year. According to a joint study by Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and IMRB, the consumer internet market in India is expected to grow by 30 per cent and touch Rs 9,210 crore by the end of March 2008, as against Rs 7,080 crore estimated for the fiscal year 2006-07. The entry of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group is only going to accelerate the growth of the Indian online industry. The group has allocated Rs 100 crore to be spent on its online gaming venture Zapak, and a similar amount to be spent on its social networking site BigAdda and online movie rental business BigFlicks. Also, there is no dearth of venture capital fund to help the online entrepreneurs execute their plans and scale their online ventures as and when possible! The year 2007 witnessed a good number of Indian internet companies receiving VC fund. These included online advertising company Komli and social networking site Minglebox.com both of which received $7 million of venture financing. The online medium currently attracts less than 2 per cent of the total ad spend in the country but the good thing is that the Indian online advertising market is believed to be growing 60 per cent year on year. Mark Read, CEO, WPP Digital, recently said, “In India we expect strong growth in the digital medium though access remains the limiting factor.”

What Mark Read left unsaid was the fact that less than 5 per cent of India’s population have access to the internet. But again the good thing is that the picture is getting brighter with the passage of time. According to IAMAI, the number of internet users in India has increased by 40 per cent at 46 million in September 2007 as compared to 32.2 million in September 2006. The government of India has taken an ambitious initiative to set-up 1 lakh broadband internet kiosks in the countryside to enable rural Indians access the internet. This move is only going to widen the reach of internet in the country. Already, 41 per cent of the total internet users in India are from the smaller towns and cities with less than 1 million population, according to IAMAI. There is significant excitement for the shares of Indian online companies. The unexpectedly huge success of the Info Edge (Naukri.com)’s IPO launched a year ago is just a case in point. Not surprisingly, a number of Indian online companies including MakeMyTrip.com and People Interactive (Shaadi.com) have already expressed their intentions to go for public listing in the next 12-24 months. Corporate houses are increasingly leveraging the internet to create brand awareness and reach their target audience. Many companies have launched brand specific websites such as SunsilkGangofGirls.com and micro sites like MentosHelpline.com. Virals, an online version of the words-of-mouth marketing, an example of which is Betano1.com, have recently gained huge traction in the country. Some of the Indian companies have also launched corporate blogs to establish an online communication channel to interact directly with their current and prospective customers. It’s interesting to know that Google-owned video sharing site YouTube.com is one of the top 10 most visited websites by the Indian internet users. And this is when the country has less than 3 million broadband subscribers. Now, it remains to be seen how online video content is going to be leveraged by Indian marketers and recruiters for their benefits. Advertising is going to be the main source of revenue for online publishers. Subscription model for online content is very less likely to find the netizens’ favour. The India Today group, for example, has already jettisoned the subscription model and has started making its online content freely available to the internet users.

Many people believe that the real potential of internet lies in the mobile space for the sheer number of mobile phone users in the country. But one view is that personal computers and laptops would continue to be the predominant medium of accessing the internet, at least till the mobile operators start allowing their subscribers to access the internet through their mobile phones freely and without any restriction. Interesting, let’s wait and watch! Table 3 Rural India Calling The government, apart from its innovative initiatives and bundled offers of computers, needs to accelerate the process to unleash broadband benefits to the rural masses Though broadband in urban areas has not penetrated the way it should have, at least the penetration level had reached 4 mn subscribers by end-April 2008. Every year the broadband target is missed.And given this fact, achieving 20 mn broadband subscribers by 2010 looks like a distant dream. A focus on rural broadband will be the savior to achieve this target. But, what are the impediments and the way out for a rural push?

Abysmal PC Penetration Though prices of PCs in India are one of the lowest in the world, for many households in rural India, purchasing a computer is a big decision as there is a feeling that the price does not justify its utility. According to a Manufacturers Association for Information Technology (MAIT) study, PC sales crossed 7.3 mn units, growing 16% in FY 200708, with households and SMEs driving the growth. It has also been projected that PC sales would touch 8.5 mn units in the ongoing fiscal. PC penetration is one of the keys to broadband growth, but the expansion is not taking place in rural areas. However, MAIT president Mukul Singhal says, “While the prices of PCs and other access devices in India are one of the lowest in the world, to sustain the domestic IT market, we need to strengthen our broadband infrastructure at a rapid pace.” In an interesting revelation to resolve low PC penetration issues, RK Agarwal, director (Plg&NS), BSNL Board says, “BSNL is also testing

a product that has the capability to replace PCs for accessing broadband. This product can be attached directly to a television, and complete PC functionality can be obtained.” It is expected that this product will cost between Rs 5,000-6,000 and may turn out to be a big boon for service providers to access rural areas for broadband connections. On July 2 this year, BSNL launched a bundled offer to provide computers for customers who wish to subscribe to broadband connections at reduced rates, in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts of Karnataka. It brought down the entry-level price to Rs 199 from Rs 250 for 24 months. Also, BSNL's tie-up with HCL Computers is designed to benefit customers who opt to buy the latter's computers by offering 10% discount. The initiative also offers a 24-month loan and can be taken to rural areas as well, helping to address the issue of low PC penetration. These computers come with inbuilt ASDL 2+ modems.

Think Local, Act Global Another significant challenge is the absence of relevant content in vernacular languages. A study by Web Analytics India points out that since most of the content available over the Internet is in English, the urban population forms the relevant mass for Internet usage. But, in India there are twenty-two official regional languages, which means that localized content is a sine quo non for operators to get good RoI in rural areas. Awareness campaigns for rural masses about the utilities a broadband connection offers is important to warm up the broadband market in the hinterland. Commodore Shyam Kaushal (Retd), regional director India, WiMax Forum, says, “The USO fund has to be used for providing government-owned computer kiosks to spread literacy of computer usage, which will in turn lead to higher number of people who would

possibly want connectivity in future. The Postal Department, which perhaps has one of the best coverage across the country, could be a central point to the creation of kiosks for Internet usage.” The youth should be targeted once broadband rollout happens in a big way. Also, conversation using social media platforms such as YouTube, social networking, blogs, Wikipedia, podcast, etc, will grow and form a key marketing sector in rural India. Compelling localized content will drive up the adoption of broadband. Costly Infrastructure Operators as well as networking companies unanimously feel that the broadband ecosystem needs to be given a boost. Financial incentives for creating broadband infrastructure will encourage operators to venture in rural areas. Atul Bindal, president, Airtel Telemedia Services says, “Fiscal incentives for companies investing in creating broadband infrastructure are important. Service tax and license fee waiver on broadband revenue, cent per cent depreciation for broadband CPE, zero excise and customs duty on broadband equipment, and USOF support are the need of the hour.” Vish Iyer, VP, Service Provider, West, Cisco India & Saarc, echoes a similar view: “Operators can achieve the kind of RoI they expect in the longer run only in rural areas. But for this, the government has to incentivize the operators for a rural push. Policies have to be operatorfriendly.” In June this year, BSNL announced that it would start a joint venture with OEMs to manufacture the latest versions of ADSL 2+ CPE like modems for BSNL's broadband service. As per the agreement, after meeting the requirement of BSNL, surplus equipments can be sold in the market or exported by the JV partner. DSL, cable, and fiber mediums are not cost effective compared to other options, particularly in rural areas because of high equipment prices. An Airtel spokesperson says, “Wired broadband service is capital intensive and the cost of creating the infrastructure in rural areas has increased largely due to the geographically scattered areas and difficult terrain along with comparatively low RoI.” He further says, “Countries with high broadband penetration have solved this last mile problem by unbundling the local loop. The high license fee of 6-10%, a service tax of 12.4%, and the USOF contribution of 5% further increases the cost burden.” Kaushal of WiMax Forum says, “The government has to unbundle the local loop on a priority basis.

Concessions have to be given to operators who set up rural infrastructure.” Broadband Over Power Line When on one side WiMax is gaining currency and is touted to be the broadband panacea in rural areas, in its latest move, the state-owned BSNL has announced to introduce broadband over power line or BPL to provide broadband access to ten villages in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh. This technology is being adopted in India for the first time to provide broadband connections to far-flung areas. The implementation of the project is expected to be completed in twelve months, to provide broadband connection to 3,000 people living in these villages.

“Telcos will never be serious about implementing WiMax, as it will eat into their mobile revenue. So, independent ISPs should be allowed to provide WiMax” AK Sekhar, CTO, YOU Telecom India

“Fiscal incentives for companies investing in creating broadband infrastructure is important” Atul Bindal, president, Airtel Telemedia Services

“The government has to unbundle the local loop on a priority basis. Concessions have to be given to operators who set up rural infrastructure” Shyam Kaushal, regional director India, WiMax Forum If the multi million-dollar pilot project succeeds in Amethi, the model can be replicated in other rural areas. And up to 200 Mbps can be achieved over existing power lines on medium and low voltage applications. Real-time access for utility application from usage information, proactive outage notification, automatic meter reading, and load management capabilities are some utility management and customer service enhancements integrated in the system. Maple Leaf, Corinex, and IIT-Allahabad have joined hands to work for the project on a hub-and-spoke model. Retaish Parimoo, MD, Maple Leaf India says, “The technology will provide access to multiple forms of communication including the World Wide Web and VoIP.” He added that it makes sense to promote this technology as it is a cost effective medium-since a kilometer of BPL technology costs one-fourth of optical fiber. Initially though, Maple will import technology from Vancouver but once the BPL concept gains currency, it will start manufacturing in India. The flip-side of this technology is that it causes potential interference with all radio services using their frequency range, as power lines are not designed to prevent radiation of RF energy. Recent Moves Rural broadband pioneer BSNL is committed to cover all inhabited villages with broadband connectivity by December 2010. Agarwal of BSNL says, “Initial equipments for phase-1 have been received and are being deployed. BSNL has already covered more than 25,000 villages with broadband connectivity and has plans to use both wireline and wireless technology to provide broadband connections in rural areas.” In May this year, the government set up an Inter-Ministerial Group to work on rural broadband infrastructure rollout planning with support

from the USOF. The group, comprising Ministries of Health, Home, Human Resource Development, Panchayat Raj, and IT will work jointly to study how various departments and agencies across India could help promote broadband usage in hinterlands. Gramjyoti, India's first HSPA-powered rural broadband demo network, plans to connect people of eighteen villages and fifteen towns in Tamil Nadu through broadband, which will help them inquire about latest selling rates of agricultural produce, have distant education by a teacher sitting in Delhi, and get treated by doctors through videoconferencing at a distant location, among other things. Recently, BSNL and Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) joined hands to roll out broadband services to more than 25,000 villages using network access solutions provided by NSN. NSN will offer multi-play solutions, including CPEs, to operators to deliver cost effective highspeed Internet access and VPNs among others to community service centers (CSCs) and other e-governance locations where the rural masses can have access to broadband connections. Scores of states like Haryana and Andhra Pradesh have implemented SWAN while West Bengal and Assam are in the process of implementation.

WiMax: Important Option Laying new copper lines or going for fiber optic cables to deliver broadband in villages that are scattered over many acres are not cost effective for operators. Since wireline broadband will not be viable in terms of RoI. Thus, WiMax will be a much more viable alternative to cable and DSL. Equipment vendors and networking companies like Cisco are ready to supply cost effective and efficient infrastructures to operators. Vish Iyer of Cisco says, “We help operators create solutions and then monetize it for offering connectivity to customers at an affordable cost. We have WiMax solutions with longer range and spectral efficiency.” The foremost impediment for operators in the way of rural broadband is non-availability of spectrum at an affordable cost. Iyer says, “Spectrum availability with low frequency, which could cover a long distance, is the primary need of the hour for operators to roll out wireless broadband in rural areas.” On WiMax as a viable alternative, Sekhar of YOU Telecom India says, “With wireless technology being a viable option, the government should come up with a clear-cut WiMax policy”. He further adds, “As of now only large telcos are invited for WiMax spectrum auction. But unfortunately, these telcos will never be serious about implementing WiMax as it will eat into their mobile revenue. So, ideally, independent ISPs like YOU Telecom that doesn't have any telecom interest should be allowed to provide WiMax.” Also, if WiMax has to really take off spectrum issues have to be resolved by the government as soon as possible and low cost equipment should be made available for service providers to rollout the service in a major way.