BSNL's cable Net service yet to pick up speed

Though Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) holds a major share of Ahmedabad's cellular market, the company lags behind other private players in the cable Internet segment.

In Ahmedabad, BSNL has more than 15,000 dial-up customers, 110 Internet cable connections and 22 leased line connections.

Major private players in this segment are IceNet, E-Comm and Iquara Braodband, a subsidiary of British Gas.

Under the dial-up schemes, BSNL offers one hour of Internet usage at Rs 6 which is lesser than that of private players.

"In the Internet industry where service is important, BSNL lost the war to private players in the service front. Otherwise, it offer better rates and infrastructure," said a corporate customer.

"We are doing well in the dial-up segment while I must admit that in the cable segment, we are yet to pick up. We are still trying to come out with more lucrative offers, especially to those in the corporate sector," said a BSNL official.

Chief general manager of BSNL Pradeep Kumar was not available for comments.

According to Chirag Mehta, chief executive officer of Icenet, the first Internet service provider in Gujarat, "Internet is here to grow. The number of customers and subscribers is growing because the dependence on Internet is increasing. A mass migration of dial-up customers to cable Internet is taking place. People who surf the Net daily for more than two-three hours prefer to use a cable connection."

In Ahmedabad, BSNL has only 110 cable connection customers whereas private players boast of having more than 5,000 customers.

Private players such as Satyam feel that BSNL is trying to capture the market by offering free connections to those who have a BSNL landline connection.

However, they say the company won't be able to increase its market share because the service of private players will always remain better.

For Internet users quality of service is important and not price, they said.

According to Ruzan Khambhatta, director of E-comm, another private ISP based in Ahmedabad, "Internet is only a by-product of telecom companies. BSNL's focus is not on Internet.

Though it has deeper pockets and better infrastructure, it will be difficult for the company to survive as its service is not up to the mark."

Another factor that has hampered the growth of BSNL in Gujarat is the lack of broadband service.