India needs a scalable business model for its public Wi-Fi service to connect millions of people in rural parts of the country, said Munish Seth , regional head APAC, Facebook Connectivity Solutions. In an interview, he said Facebook is planning to work with telecom operators to connect the undeserved communities across India through its Express Wi-Fi programme. Edited excerpts:
How do you look at the Indian telecom industry?
The industry is going through a very volatile price discovery stage. It shows an aspirational India that wants to get online as long as you give connectivity at affordable prices — something that Facebook has always been advocating. By the time we settle down on a business model, an average end user would be going to 2GB or 3GB usage per month, which is sizeable and creates new opportunities for tech and IT companies like Facebook that are collaborating with the telecom industry to create new solutions. We continue to scale up this opportunity and keeping connecting Indian masses.
What role does Facebook plan to play in the telecom sector?
Facebook likes to connect people. Many of the unconnected parts of the country are in rural India, and we have to solve not just the affordability puzzle but sustainability of the ISPs (internet service providers) and telecom operators. That's where Facebook as a startup plays a key role in incubating new technologies for India, which are made in India and to be used by Indians. Express Wi-Fi is one of the solutions that we are in an advanced stage of testing with multiple partners in India. This programme gives people affordable and quality infrastructure.
What is the company's broad strategy for its Wi-Fi service in India?
Express Wi-Fi is a programme where we are trying to create a scalable and monetizable model to connect millions of Indians. It is important that there is a business model behind it. Without a business model, the technology will not scale up. Over the last one year, we have been testing those business models and technology with our partners in different parts of the country. The results are very promising and excite us to make the programme broader and actually go deeper into the country.
Is the company planning to target any particular regions in India for its Wi-Fi service?
As a strategy, Express Wi-Fi is going to be all over the country. As a business model, we always work behind our partners, and it is important to clarify that Facebook is not thinking of becoming an operator.