Some of the key technologies to drive the future of telecom industry would be WiMax, LTE, 3G, 4G, and network backhaul technologies, observes Nitin Vyakaranam , AVP-Global Marketing & Alliances, Prithvi Information Solutions Ltd, Hyderabad (http://bit.ly/F4TNitinV). “As system integrators, TES (telecom engineering services) providers should be poised well to take advantage of this next telecom boom, because of their expertise in implementing networks in all the latest technologies,” adds Nitin, during a recent interaction with Business Line . We continue our conversation over the email.
Excerpts from the interview.
Can you trace evolution of TES in the country and how it has been different from elsewhere in the world?
TES offerings include planning, design, installation and commissioning, operation and maintenance of the telecom networks. For instance, Prithvi’s business unit, TES, offers a complete suite of end-to-end services in the engineering services area for telecom operators and OEMs across multiple countries.
The ecosystem of telecom industry consists of the operators, OEMs and the engineering services providers. TES providers work with the OEMs to help them establish networks for operators. However, in the future, it is expected that the TES providers will perform the role of system integrators.
TES is very tightly coupled with the evolution of the wireless technologies in India. Hence, the growth in the industry has followed the same trajectory as the telecom service provider business. However, the changing needs of the telecom industry have also contributed to how TES providers deliver their services.
Initially, licences in each circle were given to limited number of operators, helping keep the ARPU for operators in robust condition. Operators owned, built and managed their networks during this period.
After the issuance of second round of licences by TRAI, the competition increased, resulting in a downward spiral in the ARPU for operators. In order to improve their margins, the operators’ OEMs felt that it was imperative to reduce costs in their capital and operational expenditures. Hence, the business model of the industry moved towards managed services provided by the OEMs. To reduce the operational expenditure, the OEMs turned to the TES providers.
TES providers thus became an important cog in the wheel of the telecom ecosystem. TES has evolved into a partner that is an important element in the business lifecycle, enabling operators to function with better margins.
In other developing markets such as Africa, an India-like model is likely to emerge, resulting in engineering services providers playing an important role in the future.
Operators in developed countries have been able to keep the ARPUs at reasonably profitable levels. Most operators continue to own their networks and manage their own engineering services arms. Operators are upgrading or installing new networks to support convergence technologies. Based on the developments of the last few years, there is an imminent change in the structure of the market in these countries. We expect to see more reliance on system integrators with expertise in TES.
With the rapid development in telecom, what are the challenges that TES faces?
India is one of the most rapidly growing telecom markets in the world. With an installed base of over 700 million users and multiple telecom operators, India is also a market where new technologies are slated to be used aggressively.
The value provided by TES is to improve the operational efficiency and thereby the bottom line of the operator. To this end, there are multiple challenges that engineering services providers face, as follows:
1) Capacity to provide scale of services – It is important that the service provider has the capability and the capacity to service large number of cell areas.
2) Become efficient and cost-effective – It is imperative that TES providers run their businesses efficiently and deliver cost savings to their customers.
3) Always be on the leading curve of technology – Knowing which technology will drive the future, and building capabilities to support the requirements. It is important to have expertise in technologies such as WiMAX, LTE, 3G, network backhaul technologies etc. Networks using these technologies would be built in the next decade. Subsequently, the companies would need to look at the next slew of convergence technologies that will evolve during the decade.
4) Conducting operations in remote regions of countries – It is important to support large scale operations across countries and regions.
5) Being IT ready for telecom convergence – With voice, data and other services coming together on one network, convergence-based technologies would drive the future. These technologies are based on IT and would require substantial readiness on the part of TES.
6) Finding the right talent.
Would you like to highlight some of the Indian innovations in TES that have been replicated elsewhere?
TES providers largely create solutions that are localised to the country. Ability to support high volumes of users at a low cost per user was an important innovation of India. It was necessitated by the rapid addition of new users each month and the decreasing ARPUs. This model has changed the structure of the industry. Africa, which is the next big telecom market of the future, would see the same model implemented.
What are the skills that need to be developed within India to stay relevant in TES globally?
Our current electronics/ communication engineering curriculum trains students in the basics of communication engineering. Those basics would form the foundation for any student wanting to be successful in this industry.
Engineering education does not delve into the advanced technology areas. Since much of the teaching is theoretical, companies are training students and bringing them to speed with industry before deploying them.
There are various aspects of a network – such as, plan, design, implementation, operations and management. Each of these aspects requires a different skill set. Multiple skills required by the industry include:
1) RF engineering;
2) Transmission technologies;
3) Access technologies (2G, 3G, WiMax etc.);
4) IP-based networks;
5) NMS /OSS.
Going forward, how do you see TES to be, in 5 to 10 years?
Telecom companies in India and other markets have identified convergence of voice, data and other services as one of the key value-added services to be provided to their customers. The next decade would be the decade of convergence for telecom operators. Consumers can expect to see new services that would allow them to stay connected from anywhere.
In the next 5 to 10 years, we can expect operators to invest substantial sums of money in building the next-generation networks that enable effective wireless access through telecom networks.
The move to wireless access is being seen across the world. However, India would be at the forefront of these implementations, due to the sustained effort of the telecom operators to provide higher margin services, which could offset the lower margins of the current voice-based services.
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