Fastest connectivity possible via digitisation: Anil Agarwal

Interview with Chairman, Vedanta Resources

Committing his support for all the sectors where the government is looking for an investment push, Anil Agarwal, chairman, Vedanta Resources, on Wednesday announced his plan to set up a Rs 40,000-crore LCD panel plant in India. In an interview with Jyoti Mukul, he says whatever is good for the country is good for the group. Edited excerpts:

What kind of role do you envisage for Sterlite Technologies?

Fastest connectivity across the country can be provided through digitisation. Sterlite is already into the optical fibre cable (OFC) business and now we are branching out to create the whole network. For 12-13 years, the focus has been on creating voice infrastructure. Now it is about creating super highway and broadband infrastructure. Capital spending for that broadband infrastructure is pretty large. Bharat Net, for instance, is a Rs 70,000-crore government programme. So, we would not only supply the basic network, but design and manage it so that we have a larger share in the capital investment. The telecom value chain is pretty wide and we are moving in the entire digital value chain - not only in products but solutions and services, which include telecom associated software.

Is the technology sector coming out of the slowdown phase?

Now, 2G and 3G spectrum auctions have happened and a lot of demand is coming from data services. Data is growing at 60-70 per cent year-on-year; a lot of capital spending needs to be done. A lot of money has gone into spectrum and more money is going into data services. Telecom is a $30-billion revenue market. That has to double. Even capital spending is going to double.

How is the OFC market doing?

OFC is doubling every two to three years. What was a 6-million-km market is now 15 million km. We clearly see it becoming 30 million in the next two to three years. We have 22-million-km fibre capacity at our plants in India, China and Brazil, while India is only a 15-million-km market. We are going to focus on India market from our manufacturing facility here.

We are excited about the positioning through Digital India. Some 600 million will come on to broadband. As a company, we are doing high-end research, manufacturing and all kinds of network. We are creating high-technology network for defence in Jammu & Kashmir and creating network for villages, and fibre for home network. Whatever is good for the country is good for the us.