Broadband Services Comparison in India Choosing the Best Value Broadband Service
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BESTBROADBANDPLAN Broadband Services Comparison in India Choosing the best value broadband service Govinda Raj A. 11/14/2009 Choosing the best value broadband service Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................................ 3 Author’s Bio ................................................................................................................................................. 4 Methodology ................................................................................................................................................ 5 Broadband Market in India ........................................................................................................................ 5 Stakeholder Analysis .................................................................................................................................. 7 Consumers ................................................................................................................................................. 7 Tariff Plans – Tyranny of Choice ............................................................................................................ 7 Service Providers ..................................................................................................................................... 12 Regulator ................................................................................................................................................. 12 Call for Action ............................................................................................................................................ 13 Case Study – Price Comparison Accreditation - Ofcom, UK ......................................................... 15 Our Innovation ........................................................................................................................................... 16 Summary .................................................................................................................................................... 19 References ................................................................................................................................................ 20 Glossary ..................................................................................................................................................... 20 Figure 1 Sluggish Broadband Growth [1] ........................................................................................................ 5 Figure 2 Broadband Market Share [1] ............................................................................................................ 6 Figure 3 Skewed Distribution of Subscriber Base [1] ...................................................................................... 6 Figure 4 Broadband Technology Market Share [1] ......................................................................................... 7 Figure 5 Stakeholders .................................................................................................................................... 7 Figure 6 Broadband Plans - Choice or Confusion? [2] .................................................................................... 8 Figure 7 Consideration Set in Top Cities in India [2] ....................................................................................... 9 Figure 8 Consumer Reviews of ISPs [6] ......................................................................................................... 11 Figure 9 Consumer Reviews of Mobile Broadband [7] ................................................................................. 12 Figure 10 Solution ....................................................................................................................................... 16 Figure 11 Customer Experience .................................................................................................................. 17 Figure 12 BestBroadbandPlan Solution [2] ................................................................................................... 18 2 Choosing the best value broadband service Abstract Which is the best broadband service which meets my needs? Who is the most reliable service provider in my area? Which broadband technology to choose – ADSL, Cable, Wireless or Mobile (USB)? These questions are not uncommon. But answers are not commonly found. Indian broadband growth story is a mix of joy and sorrow; broadband is evolving slowly but surely. The current subscriber base of 6.8 million only means a broadband density of 1.16! The power of broadband is widely known; it could transform lives. Even at the current dismal growth rate, market is breeding stains of information asymmetry and customer dissatisfaction. Unless and until the pain points are weeded out now, problems would grow to unmanageable proportions. A typical broadband market consumer is confused with choices and the fine prints in tariff plans. For instance, an unlimited broadband plan is limited and the speeds are always subpar. A universe of 1000+ tariff plans spells confusion and not choice. The quarterly performance indicators, regular audits and surveys indicate negative trends in customer satisfaction and QoS parameters. Low awareness of QoS and lack of transparent channels lead to consumers making inefficient service choices. Complexity is certain to grow, and is growing, with the launch of several mobile broadband (USB stick) services recently launched by telecom carriers. There is a pressing need to correct this market anomaly and dispense with the information asymmetry. Several times in the past the regulator has intervened to correct market inefficiencies. But self interests of service providers overrule any consumer friendly solution. Hence there is a need for a solution to make it easy for customers to choose the best value tariff plan which meets his/her usage needs, select the best provider in the region after thoroughly understanding the quality of past and current performance. There is value in facilitating comparison of services, plans and service providers as it enables consumers to make informed decisions. Such a solution also serves as a market monitoring tool for TRAI who could then adopt a management by exception mode of intervention. Best broadband plan is a free online and mobile handset based service that allows users to search and compare best prepaid and postpaid broadband plans across all regions and 20+ service providers. The solution aggregates tariffs across 23 circles and 3 Choosing the best value broadband service service providers, has an inbuilt algorithm to match user’s preferences against the basket of plans, makes personalized recommendations which maximize savings, keeps product information transparent, displays quality of service ratings of operators and has an automated plan alert service. This service is a market instrument to bring in transparency to consumers, to facilitate regulation by exception rule and to allow innovation within operators. BestBroadbandPlan Number o f Plans 1000+ Service Providers 20 + including regional players Coverage 160+ cities, 23 circles Type of Plans Prepaid, Postpaid Technology Coverage ADSL, Cable, Wi-Fi, WiMAX, Mobile broadband Quality of Service QoS released by TRAI on quarterly basis Choosing Plan 10 parameters to help consumers customize search and comparison [494 words] Author’s Bio Govinda Raj A. (www.linkedin.com/in/agovindaraj ) • 9 years of cross-functional experience in telecom Product management, consulting, research and technology sales • Public consultation on TRAI on matters such as tariff plans, Access Deficit Charge (ADC) regime, NGN, & Broadband QoS • Freelancing and consultation on telecom industry Professional Experience Education IIM Ahmedabad,India NIT, Warangal, India 4 Choosing the best value broadband service Methodology The paper is built on primary research on 610 tariff plans of 20 internet/broadband service providers in India. Tariff plans are aggregated and analysed to bring out the insights. Author has conceptualized and implemented a free market solution for issues raised in this paper. Direct e-mail interactions with consumers helped further to identify pain areas of broadband users. Secondary research comprised studying leading Indian online review portals for consumer reviews and ratings of Broadband service providers. Broadband Market in India The growth in Indian broadband market has been modest in the last five years. The unsatisfactory growth has bred stains of information asymmetry and consumer short changing. With 6.22 million broadband subscribers and a growth rate of 12.68% q-o-q (Figure 1) broadband is a poor cousin of mobile in India. Figure 1 Sluggish Broadband Growth [1] Distribution of subscriber base is skewed towards top 10 service providers ( Figure 3). More service providers do not necessarily mean higher growth. 5 Choosing the best value broadband service Figure 2 Broadband Market Share [1] Figure 3 Skewed Distribution of Subscriber Base [1] Technology choices are wide for residential broadband (Figure 4). The recent launches of Mobile USB/PCMCIA broadband have seen significant market uptake due to convenience and satisfactory speed of service. 6 Choosing the best value broadband service Figure 4 Broadband Technology Market Share [1] Stakeholder Analysis Consumer Service Regulator Provider Figure 5 Stakeholders