The few that succeeded in the ISP segment pursued strategies that were radical. HCL Infinet, for instance, had a corporate focus from day one. Says a CEO of an ISP, "That makes sense as the churn is far less. The corporate client's demands are high but you don't lose customers the way you do in the retail business." Probably Primus Telecommunications, a small Delhi-based firm, epitomises how a different technical and managerial model can help buck the downtrend.
Primus took the wireless route to hook up customers while everyone else was talking optic fibre. Says CEO Tilak Sarkar: "We don't touch the ground at all. We realised that the wireless route was the most robust and there were no broken links in it." The company gets feed from London to its earth stations in India and then sends it to its customers through a wireless link.
Sarkar's management model is also unique. He uses his discretion to choose or reject customers. Says Sarkar, "We decided that we don't want dial-up or retail customers. Our business plan was to cherry pick our customers." This was, of course, backed up by efficient customer-care services. Sarkar adds that his company has also managed to keep a check on capital exposure and unproductive expenditure. Unlike other ISPs, Primus also did not advertise its services.
Still, growth was gradual. Primus today operates in six cities with just 100 people on its rolls. In Delhi alone, it has about 300 corporate customers. It currently earns revenues of Rs 3 crore a month on an initial investment of Rs 30 crore.