Ashok Jhunjhunwala

Ashok Jhunjhunwala, who leads the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras’ telecommunications and computer networks (TeNet) group, has guided the incubation of some firms that have contributed towards developing wireless technologies for these next-gen networks. Set up in 1998, the TeNet group comprises 200 full-time researchers, engineers and other technical staff and project students.

Recently in Mumbai as the chairman of Mobile Payment Forum of India (MPFI), Ashok Jhunjhunwala spoke to DNA Money’s Amit Tripathi on topics like mobile payments and 3G network roll-out in India, among others. Excerpts:

One of TeNet’s goals has been to turn India into a telecom design house for the world. How far have you succeeded in doing that?
Actually, we have gone beyond telecom design. Today, we are involved in trying to make India a wireless technology leader. TeNet is spearheading the creation of intellectual property rights (IPRs) on wireless technology and building compatibility with next-gen wireless standards. The objective is to ensure that India does not have to pay any royalty for 4G wireless IPRs in the future to foreign players. Most telecom equipment manufacturers the world over use licensed products from TeNet. 30% of telecom-related IPRs are supplied from India. Companies such as Ericsson, NTT DoCoMo and others use our proprietary technology.

Domestic telecom firms have tied up with foreign giants for technology know-how. When will we see an Indian Ericsson or AT&T rising?
The comparison may not be valid as TeNet started in the late 1990s but global telecom majors have been around for a long time. But we have done good work. For instance, Tejas Networks has done some great work in the Ethernet space.

You started with the aim of enabling one or two billion-dollar product companies in India. Have you achieved that?
I would say yes. Tejas Networks, for example, is a $600-million company. It would have crossed the $1-billion mark if it wasn’t for the current downturn. In 2004, we made ATMs that cost only Rs 50,000. At the time, ATMs made by foreign companies cost nothing less than Rs 10 lakh. TeNet-incubated Vortex Engineering has built a successful business of those low-cost ATMs. One of the companies we incubated, Midas Communication Technologies, may reach the $1-billion mark after Tejas Networks.

When do you see 3G being rolled out in India? Will it be adopted widely?
The success of 3G depends on the timing of the roll-out - if it’s within six months, 3G will succeed in two years. If it takes a year to roll out, its wider adoption will take 3-4 years. But I see 4G being launched in three years. So we may see a shorter lifespan for 3G in India.

Should 3G have been launched in India much earlier?
3G-based services succeeded in other markets due to high average revenue per user (ARPU). In India, we operate on low ARPU of Rs 200. It didn’t make sense to run 3G-enabled networks and provide 3G services with such low ARPU.

Does your confidence over 3G and 4G adoption mean you see ARPU increasing?
It might be gradual. As incomes and services increase, there will be an increase in ARPU. We have to see more entertainment, more education and more transactions on mobile phones.

What about telcos’ growing focus on value-added services (VAS) to increase ARPU?
I don’t see VAS bringing any major change to ARPU anytime soon, unless significant efforts are made to figure out what the customer is willing to spend on. New services must make significant difference to the customer’s way of working or living.

What progress has been made on the mobile payment front in India?
MPFI is working to enable low-cost mobile payment in the country with the Reserve Bank of India and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

When will mobile payment see wide adoption in India? And why?
Its adoption is inevitable. For banks and merchants, it brings huge cost reduction and for consumers, convenience. MPFI gives the parties a platform to discuss relevant issues. I see mobile payment being adopted widely in a year or two.

Source: DNAindia