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The 17th Convergence India 2009, which recently concluded in New Delhi, brought together the information and communication technology (ICT) fraternity. Some 400 participants from across the industry showcased innovative solutions and technologies in mobility, broadcasting, cable, satellite, entertainment, information technology and information security at South Asia's largest ICT event. Supported by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the event focused on empowering businesses with practical insights into managing technologies and optimising costs and value-added services (VAS).

Given that the Indian telecom industry is one of the few sectors to have resisted the global economic downturn by adding over 10 million subscribers a month, is reason enough for international players to want to be part of its growth story. The three-day annual event, which provides an international platform for facilitating business, saw representation from nearly 20 countries, besides three independent country pavilions –­ China, Taiwan and the US –­ marking the growing interest of international players in the Indian market. For instance, Ekinops, a France-based optical transport solutions provider, showed interest in developing business relationships with system integrators in telecom and broadcast networks in India. AMIT, a Taiwan-based company, introduced a Wi-Fi adapter called Zalip. Asentria, a US-based company, showed interest in establishing a manufacturing base in India for integration of Wi-Max appliances.

Inaugurating the show, Siddhartha Behura, secretary, Department of Telecommunications (DoT), observed, "In today's world, convergence is the key. All facets of communication have converged digitally into the mobile handset."

He also pointed to the fact that the urban-rural digital divide still remains and "is our main concern". There is, thus, a pressing need to bridge that gap. With teledensity in rural India being only 14 per cent, it could represent the next phase of growth for the ICT industry.

However, to sustain growth in rural India, "the key area of focus should be affordability, accessibility and inclusion, where everyone has access to information and services like security, medical advice/health, financial services, etc.", stated Subhendu Mohanty, country head and senior director, home and networks mobility business, Motorola.

R.N. Prabhakar, member, technology, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, indicated that the government could play a significant role in rural telecom penetration, especially in terms of augmenting the existing infrastructure. Given India's geographical diversity, state governments would need to work out their individual policies in this respect. He also said that the Universal Service Obligation (USO) Fund should be utilised effectively for the expansion of mobile and broadband services in rural areas.

Clearly, the next level of growth is expected to come from rural India. With the uptake of wireless technologies like 3G and Wi-Max allowing mobile access to voice, data and multimedia over converged networks, applications like telemedicine, tele-education, mobile internet and location-based services would also see an upsurge.

Meanwhile, Convergence India 2009 was not just about exhibitors, participants and attendees; the many concurrent sessions, debates and conferences added to the event, affording a serious insight into new strategies in telecom, IT and broadcasting. Speakers, both national and international, discussed telecom trends, challenges and solutions.

A key issue, for instance, was how nextgeneration networks are enabling "true convergence" –­ of voice, data and video. A few years ago, convergence was typically referred to as the simultaneous access to voice and data services. But the next wave of convergence introduces a whole new paradigm to the user experience by adding a new dimesion –­ video. According to Nick Hawkins, director, service providers, APAC, Polycom, Inc., "Video is the killer application for service providers in the twenty-first century." Speaking on the second day of the event, Hawkins declared video as the ideal way for service providers to monetise their networks and maximise their average revenue per user (ARPU). As demand for video grows exponentially, content owners/creators are coming out with new and innovative content for TV and mobile phones.

For India, 3G and IPTV were identified as the two entrants into the market that can potentially offer a whole new user experience on mobile handsets and TV sets.

In the session on, "Transition to a New Television Experience: Indian Perspective on IPTV", a key point of discussion was on how transforming TV from a medium of mere entertainment to an information medium and thereafter to a productivity medium would enable telemedicine, teleeducation, etc., in a cost-effective manner. This could then go a long way in connecting rural India, especially since TV is a powerful medium in the country, with 100 million plus TV homes. "Video will play a very important role in convergence. India will be at the forefront of developments in video communications because of the high level of TV penetration and lower costs of transmission to the end-user," claimed Vijay Yadav, managing director, South Asia, UTStarcom.

The session on, "The Infosecurity Challenge: How do the Good Guys Win?" addressed the important issue of telecom security. Since network security is one of the biggest challenges facing enterprises, with threats of insider theft and accidental data loss becoming growing concerns for organisations, the session was found to be useful.

Content creators and broadcasters, for instance, find piracy to be the biggest concern in India. "With a revenue leakage of $1.1 billion, India is the biggest monetary contributor to piracy in Asia," said Sanjeev Fernandez, NDS India, at a workshop conducted by the Center for Content Protection (CCP), Asia Pacific. In fact, the rising demand for video is necessitating new business models where content protection plays a crucial role.

Outlining the need for effective bandwidth capacity utilisation with solutions for filtering malicious content while accelerating application delivery, P.K. Lim, managing director, South Asia and ANZ, Blue Coat Systems, emphasised, "We need solutions to stop the bad and accelerate the good.

Some of the other important sessions were "Broadband: Capturing the Indian market"; "Mobile Information Society: Strategy and New Business Models", "The Place of WiMAX in the Mobile Broadband Revolution" and "VAS in India's Telecom Industry: Successful Growth Strategies".

A number of solutions and strategies were also on display at the event. Net Optics, for instance, showcased its network security products and solutions, which have been specifically designed to manage high speed data flows. Its 10 GB Aggregator Tap is the only device in the world that can monitor data flows up to a speed of 10 GB. Likewise, CCP members displayed their content security solutions for the Indian market. Verimatrix has brought out its Video Content Authority System (VCAS) for both IPTV and digital video broadcasting. In early March, Verimatrix announced that its VCAS had been effectively deployed by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) to protect its IPTV services.

On a parallel track, a panel discussion on "Regulatory Aspects of the Indian Broadcast Industry" and sessions on "DTH, MSOs and Cable: The Battle for Supremacy", "Satellite Broadcasting: Emerging Technologies" and "Animation and Gaming Industry" focused on popular interests.

Two technical workshops were also conducted on "Digital Watermarking and Fingerprinting at the BCA" by the CCP, Asia Pacific; and one on "Migrating the Backhaul Network –­ Technology Alternatives and Transition Paths" by ECI Telecom.

Among the several launches, Sai Infosystem Limited's videophone services in collaboration with BSNL received a lot of attention. The wireless/wireline service will be launched initially across north and west India and will provide audio/video calls at rates even cheaper than the Re 1 per minute landline rate. With affordability being the main concern in spreading communication services across the remote, rural and unconnected areas, video communication might just be the answer.

Many other companies chose the Convergence India platform for their product launches this year. Ekinops launched the Ekinops 360 –­ a breakthrough video transport solution that enables the aggregation and transport of multiple, non-compressed video signals over one wavelength, supporting all the newest video protocols over long distances. RailTel also announced the launch of its national long distance service for carrying intercircle voice traffic of operators using next-generation networks (NGNs). With this, RailTel became the only operator in the country using an NGN-based network for voice services.

Overall, Convergence India 2009 not only showcased latest telecom technologies and solutions and discussed key issues and trends, it also provided an effective networking platform for visitors. Useful business discussions emerged from the conference sessions and interactions among participants. From the exhibitors' point of view, the reactions were mixed, though most agreed that last year's event was better. Many of the large operators such as Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications and Vodafone Essar were conspicuous by their absence. P.A. Rahim Khan of Novacom, a Hyderabad-based company that supplies equipment to various broadcasters, said that he met only existing customers at the show. "There were no new buyers or companies that came to the event this time," he said.

Going forward, new areas of growth should perhaps be tapped for Convergence India 2010.