How do you view the Wi-Fi network usage for mobile and PDA users in India?

Currently, there are 25 million Mobile Internet users, as per Google India. There are over 175 top branded models of phones with Wi-Fi already in India. All the latest smartphones have Wi-Fi in them. India is on the brink of a data tsunami. Cisco VNI 2010 report states that while the mobile data growth rate globally stands at a CAGR of 108%, India has the highest country mobile data traffic growth in the world, with a CAGR of 222% from 2009 to 2014. Globally, 30% of all phones will have Wi-Fi in them by 2013 (Source: In-Stat). Since India is slated to have 1.16 billion mobile subscribers by 2013, this trend translates to almost 350 million Wi-Fi users in India by 2013. 

Share details about your tie-up with Café Coffee Day? Is it a free Wi-Fi or a paid one?

The tie-up with Cafe Coffee Day is a five-year EXCLUSIVE contract to provide public Wi-Fi services to CCD's end-customers. Both CCD and O-Zone will work with partners to attract footfalls to locations to use Wi-Fi and at the same time enjoy food and beverages.

There are some promotions at this moment which are free, but the services will ultimately be charged at very low rates for ad-hoc users.

Wi-Fi network also means a lot of security. How would you be ensuring it?

We implement security measures like:

• Cellphone - user account binding - only allowing Indian registered mobile users to surf online so that their identity can be ascertained.

• Layer 2 Isolation - Enabling secure online surfing experience.

• SMS-based WEP Key Sharing - Sending WEP key to registered mobile phones in some cases, ensuring encrypted access all the way through.

• Centralized Authentication - To ensure that each user is authenticated with credentials to protect against unauthorized access.

• IPS / IDS - Intrusion prevention and detection mechanisms installed in some cases to guard against unauthorized activity like rogue APs etc.

• Carrier-grade equipment installed to deliver supreme service with best-in-class features and security.

What are the growth plans and initiatives planned by the company?

The growth plans of the company are focussed on building out 20k locations across the country to be the number-one operator in the market in terms of number of locations and traffic. O-Zone plans to be the default carrier for all overload data traffic from 3G and 4G like AT&T uses Wayport’s Wi-Fi network in the US.

Do you see the proper rollout and usage of Wi-Fi in India?

With the mobile data usage of India slated to be 222%, Wi-Fi rollout is an ABSOLUTE necessity. In the US, AT&T realized this five months after the launch of the iPhone and acquired the Wi-Fi hotspot provider Wayport in November 2008 in order to have 20,000 hotspots to offload its 3G data traffic. Despite AT&T seeing a 5,000% increase in their mobile data traffic over the last three years, they have been able to handle the traffic and remained profitable only due to their hotspots. AT&T Wi-Fi handled more than 85 million total connections in 2009, more than four times the 2008 number.  As 3G networks roll out in India, carriers will realize that Wi-Fi hotspots are not competitors but facilitators and will incentivize subscribers to use hotspots as much as possible to offload their 3G traffic. Therefore, proper rollout and usage of Wi-Fi will definitely happen in India.

What is the market differentiator of O-Zone Networks?

O-Zone is the only "neutral host" Wi-Fi operator in the market where all service providers and customers can benefit from O-Zone's exclusive locations. O-Zone has no plans to become a retail brand, but will focus on building and operating a very high quality nationwide roaming network so that the Operators and Partners can continue to own the customer under their own brand and build another revenue stream. This will give O-Zone access to millions of customers and thus our partners will have a fully functioning network which they can re-sell under their own brand.

O-Zone is the only management team that has a track record of building and operating successful enterprise quality Wi-Fi networks in the international domain. Europe being approximately three to five years ahead of India, this provides them with a significant edge in terms of knowing what the end-customers and the carriers will need.

O-Zone is the member of the WBA (Wireless Broadband Association). Currently, there are only two members from India. Lastly, the differentiators are exclusive location rights with retail, education, healthcare and hospitality chains.

For more contact :
beenish@varindia.com