Kiran Pande is the Country Manager of ECI Telecom in India. Mr. Pande has been instrumental in building ECI Telecom in India, from a small technology company into an experienced global provider of next generation networking solutions. Convergence Plus spoke to Mr. Pande about ECI Telecom’s experiences in India.

CP: According to ECI Telecom’s experience, what are the main challenges in developing next-generation networks in India? What issues should be addressed to make the transition easier?

KP: One of the main challenges any network operator faces is predicting customer demand and preparing the network to support it ahead of time. Operators should plan for initial, ideal and worse case scenario when it comes to their network capacity – not an easy task in an industry where networks at the end of the day are build with revenue consideration.

Improving or even sustaining a solid ROI is a significant challenge for all network operators, more so in a country like India where ARPUs are some of the lowest in the world. By using converged and scalable infrastructure, operators are able to improve their ROI on network infrastructure.

One key element in reducing product cost is the convergence of multiple technologies and services into a single platform and infrastructure. As networks converge, the need for wireless backhaul converged infrastructure, is growing. Having a single infrastructure that supports all wireless backhaul needs and technologies (2G, 3G, WiMax) reduces network operation and capital costs, and eliminates the need for dedicated infrastructure per technology. Convergence is not only measured by the convergence of hardware/platforms, but also by the convergence of software/management systems. A single management system that supports all technologies, and all backhaul needs reduces operational costs, but also eases operation, reducing the number of technical personnel, training needed etc.

CP: 3G, WiMAX and IPTV have not yet had a significant impact in India. What do you think are their future prospects?

KP: Down the line, these data-rich technologies will allow service providers to deliver a differentiated set of consumer and business applications, including mobile broadband, slowly building their higher margin data ARPUs. All these technologies are important enabler in bridging the digital divide, allowing suburban and rural areas, without last mile copper or fiber infrastructure, the opportunity to enjoy broadband applications. These are a stepping stone and an important educator to the full potential of broadband.

CP: Broadband penetration in the country is still at a very low level. Do you think the development of NGN especially wireless technologies will significantly accelerate the level of broadband penetration?

KP: These technologies holds great promise to operators – consumers can access both voice and data services on a more efficient network, and reap benefits of enhanced network capacity, lesser congestion and service provisioning. From the experience of our customers across the globe, NGN offers a myriad of services above and beyond today's voice calls and messaging services. Using these technologies customers can enjoy mobile TV, downloading and listening to full length audio and music videos, videocalling friends and family, sending emails, surfing the internet as well as accessing a wide range of other content services including news, information, sports, finance, weather and entertainment. NGN will be an important enabler in bridging the digital divide, allowing suburban and rural areas, without last mile copper or fiber infrastructure, the opportunity to enjoy broadband applications.

CP: What percentage does India contribute towards ECI’s global business?

KP: ECI India grew strongly in 2008 and continues to be a strong contributor, representing over 20% of ECI's global revenue pie. The current financial downturn notwithstanding, we expect 2009 to present strong growth potential, fuelled by demand for ongoing infrastructure rollout and 3G capacity expansions. We also expect growth in our broadband access product line as India begins to build its broadband infrastructure, and down the line, IPTV and triple-play applications.

CP: What strategies does ECI intend to follow to maintain their market leadership in the transmission equipment segment in India?

KP: ECI is one of India's leading transmission equipment vendors. In order to maintain our leadership in the market, we operate under the following business framework, supporting the ever-changing needs of wireless and wireline operator:

Scalable platforms that will smoothly support the evolution of NG IP-based services and hard-to-predict capacity growth. Flexible solutions that can support any combination of existing TDM-based services and NG Ethernet-based services, using the same infrastructure and leveraging existing installed-base. E.g. mobile operators are looking for transmission solutions that will support both 2G and future 3G deployments.

Capital and operational investments optimization – operators are constantly seeking for methods to improve their networks’ performance. We see network engineers performing on-going network utilization analysis, single points of failure elimination and more.

In light of this framework, we launched our CESR or Carrier Ethernet Switch Router product line last year. This family of products enable service providers to offer packet-based services as well as traditional voice service over Ethernet-based networks and are ideally suited for Metro Core deployments for Ethernet-based business and residential (such as IPTV) services.

The 9000 Family is especially suited for India as it enables a smooth migration path towards a complete Ethernet-based network. Existing customers can already utilize their current capabilities to introduce packet-based services using our MSPP platform (XDM and BG product lines), then gradually transfer relevant services through the Ethernet network, finally deploying a complete Ethernet network.

On the MSPP segment, we doubled the capacity of our core solutions during 2009, and multiplied by 4 times the capacity of our metro access portfolio. Moreover, in order to meet the growing demand for high-capacity Ethernet-based services (as IPTV, mobile broadband and more) we stretched the connection-oriented Ethernet all the way to the access, bringing MPLS capabilities from access to the LH. The end-to-end MPLS deployment on our existing portfolio enables our customers to migrate into NGN all-IP infrastructure smoothly, leveraging existing installed-base and without affecting network performance or causing service hit.

We also launched automated planning and design solutions, which enable our customers to analyze their network’s performance and improve its utilization by tens of percentage points - freeing network resources and saving un-necessary CAPEX investments.