I came across this link via ZD Net. Surprisingly, Financial Express (from where this article is sourced from), hit the nail on the head. I don’t find much favour with it’s journalistic standards. That’s my opinion though.
It’s become very obvious to me as to why India is being compromised. I shall touch on the details in a later post but have a look for yourself. I quote selectively from the article.
For South Korea, 72.8% of its population use computers and 70% use the internet today.
While emphasising these facts at a recent talk in a World Bank seminar, Cheung Moon Cho of the Korea Agency for Digital Opportunity and Promotion (KADO) pointed out that in the early 1980s, its telecom infrastructure was very poor, with a 100% dependency on imported equipments and less than 7% tele-density. In a sense, South Korea’s position then was similar to India’s position in the early 1990s
In the early 1990s, it took up the indigenous development of ADSL, digital TV and TFT-LCD technology. A few years later, it decided to back the development of CDMA mobile technology in Korea in order to become a leader in the field.
The problem here is that since the Research and Development lacks here in India in anyone of the exisiting technologies(CDMA or GSM) we have to rely on the hand me down stuff of the Europeans. This is indeed disgusting for a nation that aspires to be a super power.
When it found that its early partnership with Qualcomm was resulting in a significant royalty outflow from the country, it developed its own standard Wi-Bro, which would enable domestic companies like Samsung, LG and Hyundai to become wireless leaders in the world.
This is the same problem that is there with Reliance and Tata’s. Can we know how much are we paying for the outflow in royalties and feeding fat the higher ups in US?
South Korea wants to emerge as a global leader in the 21st century and knows that leadership in technology is the key to this. It does not talk about “technology-neutrality” and did not hesitate in preventing the deployment of competing comparable technology (in this case, GSM) within the country. In fact, it continues to do so.
It is the same situation in India too but we are overtly dependent on the foreigners and now Chinese to source our needs to have telecom infrastructure. For all those juvenile idiots who claim that privatisation has resulted in better “economy”, let me retort. The likes of private players that refused to develop indigenous technology are no more worse than traitors.
South Korea is smaller than a couple of states of India Yet, it has set it’s sights high enough to emerge as a telecom leader in the world.
Further it stesses that South Korea has a strong belief in it’s technologies and it knows how to leverage those technologies for it’s own benefit. Rather than pander to the likes of World Bank or IMF Economists.
India must have faith in it’s own capabilities. Kick out the MNC’s and develop our own standards and then export them. On the world stage, we are no where near the standards of a develped country. It does pain me to think that even after 50+ years of Independence, we are still a “developing country”.
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Telecom is one example.
Insurance. Banking and now foolish attempts to open up retail too. Arguably it's a complex argument.
Each has it's merits and demerits. But when we can be self reliant in many areas, why not these?
I d agree with you about the dark fibre bit.
GAIL has signed on to provide ISP services nationwide. Similarly Rail Tel. Private companies maybe able to lease the bandwidth and provide end to end solutions. Let's hope!
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