Chennai:

This service will come at a comparable or cheaper rate than cable Internet players like Hathway Cable & Datacom, Asianet Satellite Communications and Siti Cable Network charge. Further, subscribers do not have to buy or rent a modem, as they do for cable Internet, or for the digital subscriber line (DSL) connection provided by Dishnet and Bharti Telenet.

For Rs 999 per month, and a onetime installation charge of Rs 3,500, a Sify subscriber gets a broadband connection guaranteeing a minimum speed of 48 kbps, that can go up to a maximum of 64 kpbs. While it costs approximately Rs 33 per hour to browse the net using a dialup connection, Sify’s broadband service costs Rs 25 per hour. There is no restriction on operating systems used on subscribers’ computers.

In the case of corporates, the initial payment is Rs 60,000 and cost for prepaid cards for browsing. Sify offers broadband Internet by setting up base stations in different places in a city. A wireless receiver is fixed at the top of the customer’s building in the line of sight with the base station. From the wireless receiver, the subscriber premises are wired with an Ethernet cable.

The company is also exploring the possibility of working with cable television operators. Started in April 1998, the Rs 157-crore Sify operates in both corporate and consumer segments over a common network infrastructure, and a common technology knowledge base.

“Sify’s key strength has been its ability to leverage its infrastructure for multiple services to corporates and consumers. In addition, Sify’s integrated Internet and e-commerce model enables highly efficient use of infrastructure and other costs. Sify has also used its early mover advantage to get choice customers and choice technology partners,” says David Appasamy, general manager, corporate communications.

Excerpts from an in-depth interview:

When did Sify begin operations? What business segments is it present in now?
Sify began commercial operations in April 1998 with corporate data and network services. The company today operates in both the corporate and consumer segments over a common network infrastructure and a common technology knowledge base. Sify’s network has 54 points of presence across India, from where the Internet can be accessed from over 200 cities in the country.

The corporate network services include: high-speed transmissions, virtual private networks (VPN) and Safescrypt’s encryption / authentication (Safescrypt is a Verisign affiliate). We have level three data centres in Mumbai and Chennai, with world-class hosting facilities for corporates and businesses. These centres also offer disaster recovery services, as well as sophisticated e-commerce acceleration and managed services.

The company also has other offerings like: web-enabled services, managed services and security expertise. The consumer portal www.sify.com has 36 channels catering to Indians in India and abroad. Sify’s business segments operate on a common backbone network with multiple businesses and revenue streams while costs are shared.

What is the average revenue per user (ARPU) / dialup subscriber?
The company provides Internet access to retail consumers through: dial-up from home, i-Way cyber cafe chain and broadband services. In dialup, Sify is the largest ISP with over 6 lakh subscribers. Similarly, the company has the largest number of franchised cyber cafes, over 700 i-Ways. Our broadband service offers a high-speed, high-quality, low-cost and easy-to-use Internet connection for homes. ARPUs have grown by 25 per cent over the last few quarters to about Rs 10 per user per hour today.

What is the market size for broadband connectivity in India?
The market is in too nascent a stage to give any definitive information. We see the potential for high growth in major metro cities like Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Calcutta, Hyderabad and so on.How many owned and franchisee cafes do you have? Are you planning to increase your franchisee network?
Sify operates the largest chain of cyber cafes, substantially franchised, in India. We have over 700 i-Ways offering high quality Internet access on a personalised basis. We believe that cyber cafes have strong potential based on our experience with the i-Way chain. The latest IRS 2002 survey also bears this out, with 4 per cent of the urban population now accessing the Internet regularly, of which 42 per cent access it through cyber cafes. Most of our cyber cafes have broadband connectivity, while the rest are being rapidly converted to broadband.

Sify i-Ways is present across 10 major cities across India. The major southern cities in which the i-Ways are present are Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Kochi. More cyber cafes will soon open in Coimbatore, Madurai, Trichy and Pondicherry and other cities. We provide broadband connectivity from the receiving units of i-Ways to adjacent complexes via Ethernet cable. We are looking at working with cable operators as well.

You have introduced wireless connectivity. Can you detail your business plan, and the market segments targeted?
Sify’s broadband connectivity to its countrywide backbone infrastructure was originally developed to ensure mission-critical performance for corporate customers. While Sify’s backbone is ISO-certified and mission-critical with high uptimes, the weakest link for any customer was the last mile, which was usually a leased line from the telephone service. To bypass this, Sify sourced wireless broadband technology that enables customers to be linked with Sify through a wireless radio network.

Today, about 140 corporate customers are connected to Sify’s backbone network using wireless broadband. These include Internet bandwidth customers as well as those using VPNs and other services. At the retail end, Sify provides a broadband Internet experience to over 25,000 consumers through its i-Ways as well as home access. Some 520 i-Ways offer broadband access to subscribers while 400 residential buildings in Mumbai are “smart” buildings with broadband access. Broadband access today contributes 33 per cent of Sify’s consumer access revenues (ISP and i-Ways).

What is the composition of your subscriber base - individual households, corporates?
Consumer ISP/dialup: 6,00,000. Corporates: 600.

What will be the impact of the government’s move to open up the ‘wi-fi’ spectrum? Any plans to capitalise on that?
The government’s decision on wi-fi is a welcome move and will open up the opportunities in the Indian market where the plush hotels and campuses will immensely benefit. Sify will definitely enter this spectrum.

What is Sify’s total bandwidth requirement? From whom do you source bandwidth?
Bandwidth is sourced from multiple suppliers including Videsh Sanchar Nigam (VSNL), Singtel, Singapore and others. We have over 200 MB of bandwidth that is dynamically allocated on a distributed IP network.