Panelists debate pros and cons of broadband

Is an "always-on" connection better than a 256 kpbs broadband one? If you are yet to make up your mind, read further.

"Why are we spending crores of rupees on broadband? User experience does not improve significantly beyond 512 kpbs. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) does not require broadband. Only IP video applications and the like need it."

Surprising statement indeed. Especially since it came from senior BSNL executive Lav Gupta, who was a part of a panel discussion on "Navigating Growth: The Business Opportunities of Broadband" at the First Digital Summit organised by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) in Mumbai today.

His was not the lone voice in this case. Ajit Balakrishnan, MD and CEO, Rediff.com, too concurred with this view. In fact, he even asked for audience opinion on the matter. He added that "you cannot bet on Bollywood downloads to make money online. After all, it's just a $400-million industry. E-commerce is even bigger."

Sanjeev Bikchandani, CEO, Naukri.com, took the debate further by stating that there is "an urban bias" in demanding broadband. Else dial-up connections too would serve the purpose in rural areas. ICICI Retail Assets Products' Group General Manager Madhivanan B said "the bigger issue is how to make the Internet all pervasive".

Delivering the keynote address, Dayanidhi Maran, minister for communications and information technology (IT), presented a different point of view. For him, broadband is nothing less than 256 kpbs. "If anything lower than that passes off as broadband, the service provider will be punished," he asserted.

IAMAI chairman and director and country general manager, Yahoo! India, Neville Taraporewala, said: "We are seeing an increasing convergence of media. The Internet is the hub. It's only a matter of time before the Internet converges with TV. We need broadband for engaging services."

Sanjay Trehan, head broadband, Times Internet, corroborated: "It's the media entertainment industry that drives broadband. Broadband will change the Internet landscape. Media planning and buying will happen on the Net. Contextual video search will take place."

He pointed out that in the US, the broadband speeds were in the range of 9-15 mpbs while in Japan it was 100mpbs.

While there was a debate on how much speed would be enough, there was a consensus that banks needed to give consumers a comfort level when they used their credit and debit cards online.

Currently, the combined figure stands at around 30 million, of which a significant percentage is not active. Besides, everybody agreed that there was need for "compelling content and a strong business model to make money". Bikchandani noted that while in China most of the content was local, in India most of it was in English.