ITU Telecom World 2003

October 6, 2003
India ideal for emulation by deregulating markets: Data Access

NEW DELHI -- Data Access (India) Ltd. is a JV between the SPA group of India and Hong Kong-based Pacific Century Cyber Works (PCCW). The firm launched its international long distance (ILD) services in India last July 2002, and has a market share of 40 percent of the Indian ILD market. It also acquired a full carrier license in the US and the UK, and offers a comprehensive range of voice and data services for the enterprise segment, such as IPLCs, IP VPNs, intelligent platforms for prepaid long distance calling cards.

Data Access is the first global telecom player from India with ambitious plans that will revolutionize the telecom landscape of the country in the months to come. Here, Siddhartha Ray, chairman of the SPA Group and Data Access's managing director speaks to Convergence plus on the eve of ITU TELECOM 2003.

Convergence plus: What is your focus going to be at ITU TELECOM 2003?

Siddhartha Ray: Data Access is the first Indian telco to build a global footprint in a short span of one year by aggressive deployment of technology. In a meltdown market, we have built up a formidable global carrier business, and are recognised by major players as the only telecom success story of 2002-03. We would like to showcase our global operations and products at the ITU TELECOM 2003.

CP: What do you aim to achieve by participating at ITU TELECOM 2003?

SR: It is more of an arrival announcement of a new carrier. We do business with over 100 carriers globally. This venues enables CEOs from various markets meet to their counterparts, and create further opportunity to enhance our relationship with carriers from other markets.

CP: What message do you have for the international community that will project India as the emerging telecom market?

SR: Indian telecom market has created sustainable competition in all areas of telecom for the incumbent, without triggering a meltdown of revenues and margins to a level where the business becomes unsustainable. Also, Indian companies have been leading the Indian telecom revolution, and global players had almost no contribution in shaping the market. India is a good model for emulation by other deregulating markets and this is what we would like to bring to the attention of international community.

CP: What are products and services that you will be displaying at the event?

SR: We will showcase all of our carrier, enterprise and retail voice and data products at Geneva that are available globally.

CP: How has been your performance in the first half of this year?

SR: We would call it exciting. Between January and June 2003, we commissioned new switches at New York and London, increased our traffic capacity across the network, and attained a traffic run rate of over 1.8 billion minutes a year globally. The annual survey of the Indian telecom industry by Voice & Data listed us as the seventh largest telecom company in India, which is very satisfying when we consider that they could capture only nine months of our carrier voice operation in the survey.

The World Communication Awards has shortlisted us as one of the five in the regional carrier category, and we will know whether we get judged as 'The Best Regional Carrier' on 6 October 2003, just before the event in Geneva. We had a growth of 1,217 percent during the period, and expect to achieve similar growth for another couple of years through new markets and opportunities.

CP: What are your plans going forward?

SR: Data Access is the only exception in the Indian telecom sector that has a global footprint, a global revenue base, and a globally competitive cost structure. We achieved all these in the first year of commencing our long distance carrier operations. We are focusing on international voice and data traffic. Our target is to be one of the top three ILD carriers carrying at least 15 percent of the total global voice traffic by 2010.

In the coming years, our focus will be to participate in more markets in the carrier business, and expand our global footprint to emerge as the largest global carrier while maintaining our technology edge and competitive advantage of cost.