Do regulatory issues debilitate implementation of new communication technologies?
Government has done a fair bit. More than regulatory, there are rolling-out issues. The government has been doing a fair job in progressing as far as possible. The industry has not leveraged really on what is being offered. There is no fundamental choke now as far as telecom is concerned. For example, though the government is in favor of broadband and has taken initiatives. But broadband today is still not available across the country. It is still largely limited to metros and certain select towns, and there are still last-mile issues. If broadband was made widely available all across, large enterprises would run their own VPNs. The industry has not matured yet. What would be a few technology trends and focus areas for the banking industry in 2005 and ahead? MPLS is a big-potential technology. The technology has great potential in saving costs and providing connectivity. The telcos in India are just about beginning to offer MPLS in a limited way at certain locations. Going forward, the
