Mindlabs - Compelling Convergences



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The Compelling Convergences

"A couple years ago, even the bad ideas were getting money. But we have gone far ahead in the opposite direction today where shutting down investments in good ideas," lamented Bill Joy, chief of Sun Microsystems Inc in an interview. However, the problem here is how to distinguish bad idea and good idea in the convergence era.

Most of the Internet Service Providers (ISPS) offering broadband in the US have closed down their operations whereas in developing countries like India, most of them are yet to provide broadband.

However, the promises of the broadband technology are simply intriguing. It has to offer Video on Demand, Online Theatres, full-fledged Web casting Channels, Interactive Movies, etc. And the technology is also ready. But, as it happens to any other technology in any other field, broadband takes 'inordinate' time delay before the standard squabbles between the business houses that are involved in various stages get settled and market gets an understanding.

Converging Pipe (dream) s

What is holding the convergence in relation with broadband from happening might be the squabble over standards. Peculiarly so, here we are talking about convergent in three areas: content, connectivity and consumer devices. One of the realities in delivering broadband comes with convergence in connectivity. Converting any conventional info/service line such as cable TV or electricity into digital and adding capacity to it to carry voice and video along with data is the key challenge. Now the argument put forth by the service providers is that the convergence in connectivity, while is possible, the convergence of the consumer devices is not happening in the expected way.

We all know that the TV is not becoming the Internet and Internet is not becoming the TV yet. To exhibit another case of egg and chicken story, the consumer product manufacturers say that while the technological front of the battle is on full swing, they lose interest in looking at designing/modifying/upgrading their products. It is equally a valid question. Consumers will not buy the Digital TV, when they know that they don't have the 'plug and play' service ready

Digital television, nevertheless, is a reality. The case in point is UK - BBC has promised to offer digital TV free. The impediment in most cases and especially in the developed countries is the convergent of connectivity pipes. Most grumble about the lack of support from the cable operators.

As it is defined earlier, first we need digital cable, then digital TV and finally comes the digital cable compatible digital TV. In the places where you have the digital cable, the problem pops up in the form of incompatibility of digital cable and digital TV sets.

The compelling convergence

Coming to the scenario in the developed countries, convergence gets a compelling connotation. It could not only be used for pushing the advanced value added services such as voice on demand to the mainstream but also the bare basic services like telephone. Yes, the convergence of connectivity medium in India might increase the telephone density.

India has 30 million telephone connections, which is just 3 per 100 - far, far below the world average. China, its Neighbor has 230 million telephone connections. Again the former has just 3.5 million cellular users whereas the latter has 116 million mobile phones in use.

To boost the average telephone connections to a descent level of 7 per 100, convergence of pipes might be one way - that is, delivering voice service over cable TV infrastructure, which has been proliferating at the fastest rate as per Indian standards. The cable TV operation is a lucrative business in India. The metros have organized-sectors handling the cable TV operations. They have faith in Internet and want to be a part of the revolution inspired also by the e-commerce possibilities. The cable TV networks number huge - though in smaller regions they are unorganized and deploy highly unsustainable, poor quality cables that make the delivery of even the least VOD impossible.

From the customers' point of view, such services will surely be quite exciting. Look at the possibility from an average Indian citizen's angle. He subscribes to a single entity that represents the convergence services. He is billed once in a month by a single entity that gives basic and VAS (Internet and cable TV) via a powerful broadband line (cable) on a single device (a TV or a computer). That is what makes such an attempt truly interesting.