In the Editorial, we focussed the confusion prevailing today in the Internet services market in India. A prospective individual user interested in obtaining a connection for his home is still better placed. He can make a judgement based on his own perceptions. Whereas, in a corporate environment he does not enjoy the same freedom. Is it that hackneyed L1 (least cost) is to be chosen? Or, that the government institutions are expected to take services only from the public institutions like the VSNL and MTNL and de facto ISPs: NICNET and ERNET. What the rules actually say position is not clear on the subject. Therefore, let us consider ideally how one should go about it.
The key consideration is the bandwidth coupled with the number of subscribers - how thick is the pipe through which information is to flow back and forth and how many people are busily tapping it at any given time. Normally, the ISPs lease bandwidth in blocks of 2 Mbps (or 2048 Kbps per second) from the VSNL. This capacity is further divided into 32 channels or lines of 64 Kbps each. As per international norms, 10 connections per line may be given at a time i.e., 320 simultaneous users can have simultaneous access at a given time. If more users log in, the response suffers inordinately. Now do you realise why we need to sit with a story book to pass time after hitting the "enter key" for downloadings a chosen file? Our ISPs and de facto ISPs have oversold the capacity they have bear.
Having an adequate bandwith is not just enough. In many cases, a war is lost for a horse shoe’s nail. How one does get connected to the service provider in the first place? Richer kins can lease 64 Kbps lines. Lesser mortals have to make do with Public Switched Telephone Network telephone lines.
The ISPs buy phone numbers in bulk from the MTNL or DOT, and install a line hunting software. The user dials a given number and the software finds a vacant slot and establishes the circuit. Such software can usually handle 10000 simultaneous calls. Given this, the success in connectivity would therefore depend upon how many users are trying to log-on at a time vis-a-vis how many lines are available to them to do so.
Regular computer users would accept the fact that in spite of the best preventive maintenance, a computer system can crash. And the failure could be very human as the probability of one being efficient always is unpredictable. To avoid interruptions in services, certain amount of redundancy has to be built. In order to facilitate a quick switch over. The ISPs should be prepared to make the additional investment required to make the facility available all the 24 hours in a day. The ISPs should also have multiple connectivity so that down time is limited to the barest minimum.
We have realised the hard way that this world has also people who are not concerned about our welfare. Predators are always on the prowl. Hackers want to gain access to computer systems just for fun and frolic, or to learn about some sensitive information they are not authorised to know, or to further ones own commercial interests. Computer rogues can create viruses to disturb your peace — some proliferate through media exchanges, and today, viruses are innocuously attached to the e-mails one gets. It is worth investigating the kind of security features the ISPs provide.
Roger Gibon said "History makes a man wise". The e-mail services launched in the 1980’s with much funfare, had come and disappeared. We must appreciate that the information business does not generate much surpluses. Therefore, an organisation running an ISP ought to have resilience to absorb losses, and yet to stay put on. If a company has other lines of business to prop up the ISP functions - so much the better.
Apart from the nature and size of the ISP company, the geographical spread of operations, translated in terms of "Points of Presence", is another consideration, especially if the users are of travelling type.
Today, we are in a buyers’ market. One ISP is trying to out smart the other for enlarging its customer base. For sustainability, it is not wise to compromise on cash flow. The ISPs are expected to explore other options like incentives in kind, or by way of facilities.
For example, higher storage space for e-mail and free space to host user homepages may be on offer. Recently, the VSNL simplified the e-mail address scheme for the convenience of the customers. Just note — it is easier for the ISPs to run carrier services rather than run after people and info! The ISPs themselves may develop contents of daily use for the benefit of the customers. Some may offer familiarisation workshops free or even rigorous training programme at discounted rates. Freebie marketing of items like software, is already common.
The ISPs also allow the users to grow at their own pace. One need not pay large amounts of money towards connection, earlier one was to pay to VSNL Rs.15000 subscription for 500 hours in a year. Thereafter "Block Time" plan was introduced. Presently slabs of 100 hours (Rs.2550), 250 hours (Rs.5525) and 500 hours (Rs.8500) can be subscribed to. Beyond 500 hours, for additional blocks of 20 hours, one may pay Rs.500. It is understood that the MTNL may introduce the "Kiosk system of billing" whereby the user gets just one bill which includes normal telephone usage plus internet and other database service charges on "as used" basis. Such convenient way of payment helped the French Telecom to promote utilization of their Minitel videotex system.
At the end of this tour, you may find that price is not the only criterion to choose an ISP. There are a host of other parameters which need to be used in conjunction. As a user, you should be looking for "a quality service" and "Value for money" rather than anything else!
- A. Lahiri
