Welcome to Connect-World, the information and communication technology (ICT) decision makers'´ magazine. We are the decision makers' forum for ICT driven development.
home magazine Global Africa & Middle East Asia-Pacific EMEA Europe India Latin America North America publishing calendar subscribe media media pack Global-ICT Africa & Middle East Asia-Pacific EMEA Europe India Latin America North America glossary specifications download articles recent articles free articles eLetter archived eLetter events ICT news press releases extras videos blog RSS podcasts widgets white papers about contact us about us our team faq privacy terms & conditions careers links sitemap

Connect-World Asia-Pacific I 2003     Magazine introduction Connect-World series of magazines is the leading magazine in the telecom and ICT industry that brings together the leading industry players, regulators, associations and governments, to discuss how technological integration and digital inclusion helps reduce the gap the leading industry players, regulators, associations and governments, to discuss how technological integration and digital inclusion helps reduce the gap between the developed and developing world.     Theme: Access Through Broadband Articles Contributors Feature articles     Article no.: 1 Topic: Telecom Reforms and Opportunities for Small and Medium EntrepreneursTelecom Reforms and Opportunities for Small and Medium Entrepreneurs Author: Shyamal Ghosh Title: Administrator, Universal Service Fund Organisation: Government of India, Department of Telecommunications PDF size: 112KB   About author: Mr Shyamal Ghosh, currently the Administrator of the Universal Service Obligation Fund of the Department of Telecommunications has had a distinguished career in the Indian Administrative Service. He was the Chairman of the Telecom Commission and the Secretary for India's Department of Telecommunications when he retired from Civil Service in May of 2002. During his tenure as Chairman for the Telecom Commission, major reforms in the Telecom Sector were initiated and implemented leading to the complete opening up of the Telecom Sector in India for private sector participation. Mr Ghosh has held many senior positions in both the State Government of Gujarat and the Government of India including Municipal Commissioner, District Magistrate, District Development Officer, Director, Department of Chemicals & Petro Chemicals, Joint Secretary, Chief Secretary/Principal Secretary (Finance), Industry & Agriculture of Government of Tripura, Managing Director, Gujarat State Petrochemicals Corporation, Director General of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Commerce, and as the Secretary for the Department of Electronics, and Ministry of Textiles. Mr Ghosh has represented India at many International Conferences and served as a UNIDO Consultant. He has also published many articles for newspapers and journals on various issues relating to Telecom and Information Technology. Mr Ghosh holds a Bachelor of Arts Honours Degree in Economics from the Scottish Church College, Calcutta, securing first position in the college. In addition to his achievements he also holds a Master’s Degree in Economics from Calcutta University, securing second position in the University. He was also awarded a Parvin Fellowship by Princeton University, USA for the M.P.A. Programme at the Woodrow Wilson School (Princeton University).   Article abstract: In India relatively few have access to telecommunications; it is necessary to accelerate the transformation of the sector to create a competitive, multi-operator environment. This will attract investment to build the network infrastructure and make possible affordable basic and value-added services. In parallel, initiatives are needed to manufacture low cost computing devices and provide cost-effective access technologies. In this way, small and medium enterprises can be given effective access to the advantages of the communication and information technology revolution.   Read the article     Article no.: 2 Topic: Digital Inclusion for Small Businesses in India - A Public / Private Partnership Model Author: J. Satyanarayana Title: Principal Secretary, IT& Communications Department Organisation: Government of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad, India PDF size: 68KB   About author: Mr J Satyanarayana, 48, holds a Masters Degree in Physics from Andhra University and an MBA from University of Ljubljana. He joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1977 and held several field positions in AP. He worked as the Special Secretary in the Finance Department, Special Commissioner of Commercial Taxes Department and Commissioner of Registration department before taking up the present assignment in 1999. He has been instrumental in implementing a number of e-Government projects in Andhra Pradesh like the computerisation of the Sales Tax department, the CARD project of digital registration of sale deeds, the e-Seva project which provides 46 citisen services across any of 247 counters at 31 service centres in Hyderabad. Others include the SmartGov project – a Knowledge Management and workflow automation product for the Secretariat of the government of AP with 2000 users, the APonline – a comprehensive portal that is shaping to be a one-stop-shop for the citisens of AP, the e-Procurement portal for the state, APNET – a satellite – based network for distance education etc. He has also helped design a comprehensive e-Government blueprint for the state of Andhra Pradesh.   Article abstract: The Fifteen million SMEs in India’s small towns and villages that bill less than US$5000 contribute 15 per cent of India’s GDP. They manage by instinct, not professionally. They need information on markets, to simplify dealings with government agencies, accounting and management support, access to micro-credit and the like. Systems for SMEs in India need to be designed to have low dependence on continuous high-quality power, low dependence on bandwidth and employ highly user-friendly technology. They must also be affordable.   Read the article     Article no.: 3 Topic: The Asia-Pacific Telecommunications Marketplace Author: Cindy Payne and Jonathon Gould Title: Founder and Managing Director & Co-Founder and Director Organisation: Asia-Pacific Connections PDF size: 72KB   About author: Cindy Payne is the Founder and Managing Director of Asia-Pacific Connections. Ms Payne brings over 20 years experience of Asia-Pacific sales, marketing and general management to the company. Located in the region since 1991, Ms Payne founded Asia-Pacific Connections in 1993 to assist IT companies to expand into and across Asia-Pacific. Prior to launching Asia-Pacific Connections, Ms Payne managed the Asia-Pacific distribution sales business for Quantum Corporation, a major hard disk drive manufacturer. She grew the business from its 1986 start-up phase to a complex business with revenues exceeding US$90 million. Previously, Ms Payne held Asia-Pacific marketing management positions at two global distributors. Ms Payne is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and often has articles published in industrial journals. In addition, Ms Payne has served on the boards of several professional women's associations. She was the founding chairperson of Singapore Women in Technology (SWIT.) Ms Payne has two Bachelor of Arts degrees in International Studies and Languages from Miami University, Ohio, USA. Jonathon Gould is the Co-founder and Director of Asia-Pacific Connections. He has over 20 years of sales, marketing and general management experience in the finance and technology industries, including nine years in Asia-Pacific and two years in Europe. Until May 2002, Mr Gould was Senior Vice-President, Business Development, Maestro International, MasterCard's global online debit system. He was responsible for building the Maestro brand, and increasing cards usage and acceptance globally. From 1997 to 2000, Mr Gould was Senior Vice-President, Marketing for MasterCard Asia-Pacific. In that role, Mr Gould led the regional support programmes including advertising and promotions, sponsorships, communications, new product development, acceptance development and market research. Prior to joining MasterCard, Mr Gould was the General Manager, Asia-Pacific, for VeriFone Pte Ltd, where he spent over eight years working throughout Asia-Pacific, building their business to US$70 million. Mr Gould began his career in the payments industry at Union Bank of California. Mr Gould earned a Master's degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles. Mr Gould is recognised as a leader in Asia-Pacific marketing and frequently speaks at industrial conferences and seminars.   Article abstract: With 712 million telecommunications subscribers, 36 per cent of the world’s total, Asia-Pacific is the largest regional telecommunications marketplace in the world. China, in terms of network capacity and subscribers, is the world’s largest national telecommunications marketplace. India, with a 37 million fixed-line telephone network, although among the world's largest, serves only 3.7 per cent of the country's one billion people. Despite its many technologically sophisticated regions and companies, much of the region, and especially its SMEs, suffer from a lack of adequate telecommunications-based services.   Read the article     Article no.: 4 Topic: Global Clearing House – Facilitating the Way the World Communicates Author: Vivek Jhamb Title: Executive Vice President – Technology & Carrier Business Organisation: Data Access (India) Ltd PDF size: 76KB   About author: Vivek Jhamb is the Executive Vice President for Global Carrier Business and Chief Technology Officer of Data Access (India). As such, he is responsible for Global Sales & Marketing, Carrier Relationship and Business Management as well as technical support for carriers and the deployment of new technology. Prior to joining Data Access, Vivek was the CEO of Omincomm WebTec Ltd, a broadband ISP and B2B exchange. Mr Jhamb's was formerly with the Workgroup Business Unit at Cisco Systems, USA, and was amongst the founding team at iBEAM Broadcasting Corporation, USA. At iBEAM Broadcasting Corporation, he was responsible for the Content Deliver Network for streaming media. He also led a team for the development of Voice Over IP (VoIP) product at Network Programs. Vivek Jhamb is a Gold Medallist in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani (Rajasthan) and M.S. in Computer Engineering from Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. He has over 10 years of experience in telecommunications, networking, software development and business management in United States and India.   Article abstract: The voice arbitrage business, or global clearinghouse is a one-stop solution for worldwide carriers, but this sort of solution has not been used in India until now. Global revenues for these operations are to $20-25 billion. Clearinghouses handle 65 billion minutes a year of call traffic volume (2003 estimate). Indian companies would like to capture 5 per cent of this traffic, 3.25 billion minutes, the equivalent to 65 per cent of India's international traffic. This would make Indian telecom companies global telecom players.   Read the article     Article no.: 5 Topic: Internet for SMEs — New Opportunities Author: R.Ramaraj Title: President & Managing Director Organisation: Internet Service Providers Association of India (ISPAI) & Sify Limited PDF size: 76KB   About author: Mr R Ramaraj is the current President of the Internet Service Providers Association of India (ISPAI). He is also the Managing Director of Sify Limited, the pioneer and leader in Networking, Internet and eCommerce Services in India. Sify was the first Indian Internet company listed on the Nasdaq ( NASDAQ : SIFY). The company’s countrywide IP backbone network is India’s first Tier 1 network infrastructure, comparable to that of global majors AT&T, Singtel and Telstra in terms of speed, reliability, scalability and security. Mr Ramaraj is a B.Tech in Chemical Engineering from the University of Madras and an MBA from the IIM, Calcutta. Beginning his career in Sales and Marketing, Mr Ramaraj went on to pioneer the retail marketing of computers in India by establishing Computer Point in 1984. He was a Founder Director of Microland Ltd before a stint in cellular telephony as Director, Sterling Cellular up to 1996. He started Satyam Infoway, as it was known then, as Founder Director in 1996. Mr Ramaraj was named the ‘Evangelist of the Year’ at the India Internet World Convention in September 2000. In a 2001 CNET.com poll in India, Mr Ramaraj was voted the IT Person of the Year 2000. He is the current President of the Internet Service Providers Association of India (ISPAI). He is a Rotarian, reads extensively and is interested in Indian philosophy. He is married and lives in Chennai, India, with his family.   Article abstract: Only a small percentage of India’s larger businesses are using the Internet or today’s powerful business management systems to deal with vendors, suppliers or customers. Few use the Internet for eCommerce beyond closed user groups. SMEs use the Internet and ICTs even less despite the fact that they can benefit the most. Most SMEs have little awareness of the benefits ICTs can bring, have little experience with computers, find them too expensive and have difficulty with the steep learning curve.   Read the article     Article no.: 6 Topic: The New Broadband World for the Small and Medium Businesses Author: Rajiv Sharma Title: Chief Operating Officer Organisation: Bharti Broadband Networks Limited PDF size: 80KB   About author: Rajiv Sharma is the Chief Operating Officer of Bharti Broadband Networks. He joined Bharti in late 2000, and has led the group’s data and broadband business initiatives, which under his leadership have made some breakthrough achievements in India's data COM industry. He brings with him more than 22 years experience in the Office Automation, IT and Telecom Industry in India. He began his career as a front line sales person in the office automation industry in the early eighties; Rajiv quickly proved his mettle with the HCL team and was soon promoted to head Sales & Marketing Operations. After a long stint at HCL Rajiv decided to try his hand in a different industry – Digital Imaging. Joining as President & CEO Rajiv turned the company from a loss-making unit to a hugely profitable and dynamic organisation within a year. Rajiv is known for his people management and networking skills. He is a workaholic, but, in spite of his hectic schedule, Rajiv never misses his exercise. He has been known to jog from an airport to his hotel if he misses his morning exercises.   Article abstract: "India," it was said, "has an intellectual advantage, but a practical disadvantage." This helps India's software industry, but hinders it elsewhere. The government focus on strengthening SMEs can accelerate growth and build India into an economic powerhouse. SMEs need assistance to assimilate new technologies and new productive, administrative and marketing methodologies. Large corporations can afford professional help, but SMEs need education and hands-on assistance to effectively absorb the technologies and processes that will revolutionise the way they do business.   Read the article     Article no.: 7 Topic: Small Business Friendly Satellite Broadband Author: Conny L. Kullman Title: Chief Executive Officer Organisation: Intelsat, Ltd PDF size: 104KB   About author: Mr Conny Kullman has occupied the position of CEO for Intelsat since 1998. He spent the last four years leading the organisation through the most dynamic period in its 38-year history. In July 2001, Mr Kullman spearheaded Intelsat’s successful transformation from an international co-operative to a fully commercial, private company. This process has placed him in a prominent position that enables him to share his ideas about meeting the demands of and introducing new technologies and strategies in an increasingly competitive satellite environment. Since joining Intelsat in 1983, Mr Kullman has held leadership roles in virtually every major functional area of the company. As VP and Chief Information Officer, he initiated a major upgrade of Intelsat's spacecraft control and launch facility, allowing the company to monitor and control 25 satellites with only three staff on shift. Before becoming CEO, he was VP of Operations and Engineering with responsibility for all major investment programmes and Intelsat’s industry leading operational excellence – he delivered system availability consistently above 99.995 per cent. Since becoming CEO, Mr Kullman and his team have focused on building an Intelsat that leverages its reach into over 200 countries around the world—offering expanded services and entering new markets—while maintaining an industry-leading financial profile. Prior to joining Intelsat, Mr Kullman was a Senior System Design Engineer at SAAB Space AB in Sweden. He received a Master of Science degree in Electronic Engineering from Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg. Mr Kullman is a member of the Washington Space Business Roundtable, the Society of Satellite Professionals, and the International Academy of Astronautics.   Article abstract: Broadband access is one of the keystones of the knowledge economy. The industry’s initial focus on building broadband capacity has shifted toward a more customer-centric strategy and SMEs and SOHO (residential) customers are increasingly seen as comprising an important market sector for satellite via broadband. The emphasis is on building flexible solutions to meet a variety of connectivity requirements – including attractively priced broadband–based services for SMEs that give them facilities that were previously available only to larger companies.   Read the article     Article no.: 8 Topic: The Arrival of Location-Based Services Author: Jason Angelides Title: Director of Marketing Organisation: True Positions Ltd PDF size: 64KB   About author: Jason Angelides is a director at True Position in King of Prussia, PA. He has been with the company since 1998, and has been involved in the design and development of wireless products since 1994. Jason has a BSc from Villanova University and a Master’s degree from the Illinois Institute of Technology.   Article abstract: Location-based services (LBS) need to offer performance, value and usability. LBS performance is the accuracy with which a cell phone's location can be pinpointed, by its coverage and its ability to obtain a location fix. A LBS's value depends upon its ability to provide the needed information in a usable form. LBS can be expected to have a significant impact upon SMEs helping them with a variety of tasks from marketing to keeping track of deliveries, personnel and goods.   Read the article     Article no.: 9 Topic: Optical Networking for Enterprises Author: Kumar N. Sivarajan Title: Chief Technology Officer Organisation: Tejas Networks PDF size: 68KB   About author: Dr Kumar N. Sivarajan is currently the Chief Technology Officer of Tejas Networks. Dr Sivarajan co-founded Tejas Networks in May 2000. Prior to joining Tejas Networks, Dr Sivarajan worked (1990 to 1994) at IBM's Thomas J. Watson Research Center and then (1994 to 2000) with the Electrical Communication Engineering Department of the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore. Dr Sivarajan is co-author of the book Optical Networks: A Practical Perspective published by Morgan Kaufmann Publishers. He is an Associate of the Indian Academy of Sciences, a recipient of the Young Engineer Award from the Indian National Academy of Engineering, and the Swarnajayanti Fellowship from the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. He is also a recipient of the IEEE Charles LeGeyt Fortescue Fellowship, the IEEE Communications Society William R. Bennett Prise Paper Award, and the IEEE W.R.G. Baker Prise Paper Award. Kumar N. Sivarajan earned his Bachelor of Technology degree in Electrical Engineering (Electronics) from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena.   Article abstract: High-speed, cost-effective data communication is vital to the productivity and success of most enterprises. Even though advances in fibre-optic technology have brought high capacity backbones to many businesses, the technology for leased lines remains expensive and difficult to manage. A cost-effective, easy-to-manage, Ethernet leased-line service to enterprises can be provided through the use of Ethernet over SDH technology that has recently been standardised by the ITU. This will provide smaller businesses with affordable easy access to reliable on-demand bandwidth.   Read the article     Article no.: 10 Topic: Wireless Broadband Access – Meeting the Needs of SMEs throughout the World Author: Susan Lee Title: Co-Founder, CEO and Chairman Organisation: PointRed Technologies, Inc PDF size: 52KB   About author: Susan Lee has more than twenty-five years of management and technology development experience. She founded PointRed Technologies in 2002. The company provides a cost-effective, practical and innovative solution to delivering wireless broadband capability anywhere in the world. In the late 1990s, Ms Lee built a network integration company that grew to $2M revenue in the first year of operations. With Sun Microsystems in the late 1980s, Ms Lee has held the position of Systems Engineering Management for major semiconductor accounts such as Intel, Samsung, Seiko, Lattice Semiconductor and Cadence. Ms Lee's background includes management, systems engineering, sales and marketing. Ms Lee is a MS candidate at Phoenix University and holds a B.S. degree in Computer Science and Business from Seattle Pacific University.   Article abstract: Most businesses in both the developed and developing world are Small or Medium Enterprises. The Internet makes it possible for them to participate in world markets, but their access to affordable broadband is often limited. Supportive government regulations and easy to use wireless technology are needed to provide SMEs with affordable broadband. Wireless systems in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly India and China, have generated a 70 per cent return-on-investment within three months and can turn a profit within four to five.   Read the article     Article no.: 11 Topic: Conditional Access System: A Key System for the Future of Digital Television Author: Nicolas Andrieu Title: General Manager, Asia-Pacific Sales Organisation: Canal+Technologies PDF size: 76KB   About author: Nicolas Andrieu joined Canal+ in 2000, as head of sales in Asia. In 2001, he was appointed general manager of the Asia-Pacific region. He started his career in 1993 at the French Ministry of Foreign affairs overseeing cultural and technical co-operation in Yemen. In 1995, he joined Dassault Electronique where he was responsible for sales development of its electronic warfare products in the Middle East. In 1997, he moved on to Thales (former Thomson-CSF), the French defence electronics giant where he was in charge of the business development of its electronic warfare activities in the Middle East and North America. Mr Andrieu is a graduate of France’s top business school, the Institut Supérieur de Gestion (Paris), with international business development and finance expertise.   Article abstract: CAS (Conditional Access Systems) provides secure, controlled access to content broadcast by pay TV operators. CAS is the key to operators’ revenue opportunities. Today's systems permit purchases using bankcards inserted into the set top box, hard disk content storage for viewing when convenient and real-time content ordering among others. The DVB Consortium's standardisation initiative has provided needed guidelines for the industry's development. Small businesses in the Asia-Pacific region should benefit from CAS both as users and as content providers.   Read the article     Article no.: 12 Topic: Quality of Service - The Key to India's Markets Author: Mr. Viraj Pradhan Title: Senior Business Director, South-Asia Communications Business Unit Organisation: Tektronix (India) Limited PDF size: 72KB   About author: Mr V Pradhan has over 12 years of professional experience in the T & M industry, related to telecommunications & semiconductors. In his current position at Tektronix, he is responsible for the Communications T & M business in South Asia. At Tektronix, he has worked closely with key telecom organisations such as the Siemens, Ericsson, Reliance, Hughes Software, Lucent Technologies, Bharti Mobiles, Hutchinson Max, Tata TeleServices, Bharat Electronics, C-DoT, Indian Telephone Industries, apart from other telecom operators in the private sector and several other research & development labs, helping them evolve feasible and effective solutions to their telecom challenges. He has also presented in the past technical papers at various, prestigious forums like the IBC and the Convergence India, Supercomm Asia, on topics which includes SDH, Protocol Analysis, Quality of Service (QoS) in mobile networks, amongst others. Viraj holds a degree in Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics, with specialisation in Telecommunications and a Master’s degree in Marketing & Finance.   Article abstract: The growth of competition in India's market has cut margins and made revenue protection, churn reduction and optimisation of services increasingly important. The tools an operator has to maintain and build market share have become increasingly limited. Price cutting draws a quick competitive reaction. Technology is available to all and is costly. Good customer care, though, builds loyalty. The ability to maintain high service quality is a key weapon in the fight to maintain market share and please demanding customers.   Read the article Confirmed authors (Order by article no.)   Shyamal Ghosh Administrator, Universal Service Fund, Government of India, Department of Telecommunications   J. Satyanarayana Principal Secretary, IT& Communications Department, Government of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad, India   Cindy Payne and Jonathon Gould Founder and Managing Director & Co-Founder and Director, Asia-Pacific Connections   Vivek Jhamb Executive Vice President – Technology & Carrier Business, Data Access (India) Ltd   R.Ramaraj President & Managing Director, Internet Service Providers Association of India (ISPAI) & Sify Limited   Rajiv Sharma Chief Operating Officer, Bharti Broadband Networks Limited   Conny L. Kullman Chief Executive Officer, Intelsat, Ltd   Jason Angelides Director of Marketing, True Positions Ltd   Kumar N. Sivarajan Chief Technology Officer, Tejas Networks   Susan Lee Co-Founder, CEO and Chairman, PointRed Technologies, Inc   Nicolas Andrieu General Manager, Asia-Pacific Sales, Canal+Technologies   Mr. Viraj Pradhan Senior Business Director, South-Asia Communications Business Unit, Tektronix (India) Limited