INTERNET THROUGH CABLE

S Sriram, Managing Director, Cyberwave Internet Solutions Limited, speaks about Internet through cable, as the technology for 'generation next'.

We have so far wired up the southern part of Chennai, particularly the T Nagar area. In a span of another three months we are planning to wire up Ashok Nagar, Annanagar, K K Nagar, Kilpauk, Parrys and Georgetown.

The cables go from our office to the end customer. For this kind of an end-to-end solution, it is difficult to have a tie-up with a subcontractor or a cable operator. We have to then depend on the technology available with the subcontractor. So we decided to go it alone and do it ourselves. Sometimes its a slow process, but the experience is enriching. It has increased our confidence in going international with these solutions. A tie-up does not give us any extra advantage, as we cannot use the infrastructure offered by the cable operators. We did try out this model for a month when we started, but we found that the network was not homogeneous. All the operators did not give the same kind of quality. They use gadgets from different companies. It is not reliable and is unsuitable for data transportation.

When it comes to television, we may not be very particular about picture quality, and most of us are not aware that the pictures are made of pixels. If you go up close, you will find these holes in the picture; it primarily goes by the speed you register. The quality is okay for video, but for Internet it doesn't even takeoff. We realised the problems were insurmountable and also this was not the segment we were targeting.

We have around 1,000-plus connections in the city so far.

People do realise that its Internet. But some Companies are misusing the name - Internet-through-cable. What the user has to do is verify the truth of what claims are being made. Fact is, the spread cannot be fast. We need to lay a fresh cable every time someone asks for it. We are not laying underground cables. Our cables are all overhead. It takes about two to seven days. Depending on the area, we either take it from our office or if the area is already connected, we have to lay the cable from the nearest network.

Again, the installation time (two to seven days) is a major obstacle. That is one advantage the dial-up service has over us. Another thing is the upfront cost. We charge Rs 15,000 upfront for registration, installation of the cable and for the modem. People find that costly. We are looking into this and planning to introduce new schemes. But any user can walk out of the scheme anytime. But most people do not realise that they will be saving on DoT (Department of Telecommunication) charges. If you work out the cost in the long run, you will find that this service only costs you Rs 1.37 per hour.

The main obstacle is, people are cautious about being tied to a new technology. They want to wait and watch and then take the decision. We also offer the regular dial-up service. But we do not push it. Whoever has signed up for our Internet-through-cable is addicted to it. Consider the advantages: Since the telephone is not involved, you do not have to depend on getting the connections. Access is available 24 hours, we are talking of a speed of 10,000 Kbps. You only have to experience the speed to understand what I say. I mean, people get tensed when they do not get the connection fast, and once the connection comes, download time is pathetic. It can push up blood pressure for a normal person.

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