The Telecom Revolution in India

Man's quest for bringing about proper communication is as old as the human civilization itself. One can trace back the earliest references of communication to signal fires in Iliad, an ancient Greek epic poem, describing the siege and capture of Troy, ascribed to Homer, and probably composed by oral tradition over the centuries prior to 700 BC.
And again as early as 700 BC to 300 A.D carrier pigeons were rampantly used as an effective method of communication. However, it was Alexander Graham Bell who revolutionized the world of communications by inventing telephone in 1876.
In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell and his financial backer, Gardiner G. Hubbard, offered Bell's brand new patent to the Telegraph Company and they appointed a committee to investigate the offer. The committee found that the voice of the device very weak and indistinct, and was even weaker when long wires were used between the transmitter and receiver. Furthermore, they also rated the very idea of telephone as an absurd and impractical device. But ironically in a matter of six years Graham Bell obtained controlling interest in the Telegraph Company. And rest is history.
The nineties saw an upsurge in telecommunications with World Wide Web becoming a reality in 1992. And today with the satellite and digital technology getting streamlined the telecommunication revolution is moving at a pace which is perhaps faster than light.
With the whole scenario of telecom changing rapidly matters relating to it are governed by a global apex body called International Telecommunication Union. This international organization is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland within which governments and the private sector coordinate global telecom networks and services.
ITU has been helping the world communicate better ever since its inception. Having brought the government and the industry together for several decades to coordinate global telecommunications networks and services, it is once again pioneering a new communication path by laying the foundations for a World Information Society. And the observance of World Telecom Day is just part of it.
Recognizing that telecom sector is one of the prime movers of the economy, the Indian Government's regulatory and policy initiatives have been directed towards establishing a world-class telecommunication infrastructure in the country. Though the technology we have in India is at par with what they have in the U S, the Americans have a tele-density of 50 that far outreaches the world average. The Chinese even have a tele-density of 7 per hundred where India stands only second to China among the developing economies.
In the present times of convergence, where both the meaning and role of telecommunications is changing, the challenges for telecommunication are tremendous. India has made considerable progress in this field, but a lot still remains to be done. If one can provide world class service together with the latest technological support no amount of competition can erode one's bastion. And under such a setting, it's always the consumer who becomes a king and secures an assertive stand to strike a good deal.

One phenomenon impressing everybody the world over is the rapidity with which traditional telecommunication networks are morphing into electronic-photonic transportation systems for storing and carrying information.
Till the 1980s, telecommunications had been the monopoly of either the government, as in Europe, or the private sector as in North America. Monopolies became unsustainable when computers became inexpensive and small. Today the prices have come down drastically for leased circuits, domestic long-distance and international calls.
India can now boast of an infrastructure that is comparable to the best in the world. The major achievements in the decade since the adoption of the first National Telecom Policy in 1994 is that about Rs 40,000 crore have,come into this sector, with both the Government and the private sector actively developing the infrastructure, and competing with each other, offering a choice to the customer.
The introduction of optical fibre cables, a pair of which can sustain crores of telephone conversations simultaneously are ushering in a sea change in the Indian telecom sector. With the revolutionary changes that are sweeping the country's telecom sector applications such as internet, mobile telephones, distance education through satellite support and tele-medicine are fast becoming a reality.
In India, the new technology can be used to every ones benefit. Without the support of technology and its extensive availability and affordability, no country has ever prospered nor has it become powerful.