Backbone cabling must be optimised: Krone CEO

Chitra Phadnis

BANGALORE, Aug. 15

KRONE Communications has been on a roadshow to showcase its PremisNet solutions and cabling systems. Speaking to Business Line, the CEO, Mr Bala K. Chandran, said: ``Today, the communication platform cannot be separated from the business platform. If the communication system breaks, the business will collapse.

``There has been a slowing down of investment in communication infrastructure and we have been talking to IT and network managers on the importance of a reluable and futuristic physical infrastructure.''

Excerpts:

On the need for a common infrastructure:

Today, you see the incumbent service provider laying fibre optic cables on one side of the road and the private sector digging up the other side. We need common infrastructure to be provided so that the service operators can focus on providing just the services and not worry about infrastructure.

Infrastructure is largely capital-intensive and the gestation period is long. If every company puts up its own individual infrastructure, costs go up, return on investment is slower, break-even is delayed.

If private service providers co-locate with the incumbent (BSNL, MTNL, or VSNL as the case may be), infrastructure spend can be optimised.

Fragmenting capital infrastructure more and more results in funds to the industry drying up, and delay in both revenues and rollout.

On cost advantages of working together:

A little more companionship is need. If operators work together, to share the backbone, access costs will be lower.

The customer can then choose any particular operator's services. In the process of evolution, we will probably reach that stage some time.

Consolidation of players:

Today, the service providers are fragmented. There are different people offering basic, mobile, Internet access services. This model is totally uncompetitive. Users will want one single provider who can give all services.

On manufacturing in India:

People believe that India is not a good destination for hardware manufacture. I beg to differ.

I think India has the potential to be one of the largest countries after China to manufacture and deliver goods that are world class.

If you remove the frills -- the statutory regulations and so on which add to the cost -- in core manufacturing capability, skill sets, and productivity per employee, we are comparable to anyone else.

It is the statutory and regulatory issues that add to the cost of goods sold (CGS). Easy access together with local manufacture will drive greater PC penetration, which is something like just 0.2-0.3 per cent today.

On the urban-rural divide:

There is a huge divide between what the businessman in Mumbai and the villager in interior India wants. The Government needs to know where to put money and try and bridge it.

It is a good concept to ask service providers to have a rural component. Indian conditions are unique and we need to decide what is workable for us. There is no dearth of design capability, fibre optic capacity in the country. India is better positioned to address local market needs, which is the biggest challenge today.