Broadband dreams touch daylight as players start offering Net via optic fibre. If consumers have to vote, so do the cable operators.

By Pooja Garg

The dig-and the wait-is over. From now on, the pudding is in the broadband. If you didn't know already, Punj Lloyd's Spectranet and Bharti Group's Mantra have started offering internet via cable and TV into offices and homes in Delhi. Though their business models don't download as one, both players hope to convince users to pay a premium to receive quality, on tap internet access piped through optical fibre cable.

Not surprisingly, both players were chary to reveal how many subscribers had logged on. All that Atul Punj, 42, Chairman, Spectranet, is willing to say is ''50-75 subscribers are signing up every day''. Spectranet is offering services in a clutch of South Delhi localities. Mantra, which has Vasant Kunj under its belt, claims that 100 households have signed up thus far.

It is early in the day, but the figures have to be put in context. BT learns that Spectranet's business plan projected that 50 per cent of households will opt for the service. ''The real test will come with uptake in other parts of the metro,'' warns a Delhi-based internet consultant. Cost (Rs 15,000 for a cable modem, Rs 1,500 a month for services, plus wiring charges) is a major issue, particularly as dial-up access rates have come down considerably. For now, consumers are non-committal. At least this gives the two players time to work out relationships with the cable operators, who hold the crucial last mile.

Spectranet, for one, is building a relay system that would transmit TV as well as the internet. The cable operators who sign up would thus be leasing into the Spectranet system. BT learns that the company has inked exclusive contracts with a few cable operators (Spectranet refused to give details, citing a non-disclosure clause). There are two problems here. One, the cable operators are not rushing into exclusive contracts, and that too on a system controlled by Spectranet. Says Rahul Khanna, 35, owner, New Friends Colony Network, which has entered into an exclusive contract with Spectranet: ''It is better to have a non-exclusive contract, but the contract has an exit clause, whereby you can leave by giving a month's notice.''

Then, the cable operators have to upgrade their networks at one go, which costs a pretty packet (Rs 3 lakh for the node, plus Rs 3,000 for wiring up each subscriber). Here, Spectranet is offering loans to the cable operators, to be repaid with interest. Disagrees K.D. Khanna, Director, Home Infotainment, which has tied up with Mantra: ''We wanted Spectranet to partner with us and share the risk.''

Mantra's business model is not to enter into exclusive tie-ups (it has inked two deals thus far) but wire the cable operators' doorstep, leaving the last mile to them. Adds Atul Kunwar, CEO, Mantra: ''We are helping cable operators with the equipment and upgrading the network.'' Which business model will work? Clearly, before the potential audience delivers its verdict, the vagaries of the delivery system will be put to the test.

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