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Follow UsVideo-conferencing solutions are also offered as a service from various entities in India. However, they haven’t yet reached a stage where you can just walk into a video-conferencing studio with the same elan as you would to your neighborhood PCO-wallah. Video conferencing is still a niche segment, so service providers are yet to start rentals in reasonable numbers.
We checked out a couple of service providers to see what kind of facilities they offer (see box for contact and price details).
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Not all service providers are open to everyone. If you’re a private-sector organization, you have to depend on services offered by VSNL. Or you’ll have to check out communication and business centers in IT-related areas. We found one in the Gesco (Great Eastern Center) building in Nehru Place, Delhi and another one at the WTC (World Trade Center) and Faxmann Communiations in Mumbai. Gesco’s studio works on a first-come-first served basis for business users, and is available for non-members for an extra charge. Similarly, WTC in Mumbai offered us the usage of their studio with equipment on advance booking. Many five-star hotels also offer the facility.
If you’re from a government department or PSU, the NIC (National Infomatics Centre) is ready to help. With its wide network of ISDN and VSAT connected studios in 26 cities, NIC’s facilities are targeted at public and private parties who are engaged in “projects of national importance”. NIC also has portable SCPC VSAT (1.8m) dishes to provide video conferencing from remote areas. So business conferences are a strict no-no at the NIC, but NGOs and other non-profit organizations working towards rural development can use these facilities to interact with their personnel in the field.
| Service Provider |
Technology | Number of centers |
Studio charges (fixed) |
Other variable charges |
Contact information |
| NIC | ISDN/VSAT | 26 cites | Rs 3,150 per hour (for both sites) |
Rs 3,150 per additional site in India |
URL: http://alfa.nic.in/vc1/booking.htm. E-mail: vc-delhi@alpha.nic.in |
| VSNL | ISDN | 25 cities | Rs 2,500 per site/30 mins |
Charges to foreign countries extra for outgoing calls |
E-mail: mktghq@vsnl.com URL: www.vsnl.com/english/contact/ index.html#gandhi |
| Faxman | ISDN | Mumbai | $150-200 per hour |
URL: www.vfaxman.com/bookings.htm E-mail: faxman@vsnl.com Tel: 022-2061001 |
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| MVIRDC World Trade Centre |
ISDN | Mumbai | Rs 1,000 per hour |
ISDN dial up charges atactuals for outgoing calls |
Tel: 022-2184434/9191 |
| Gesco | ISDN, | Delhi | Rs 700 |
Actual ISDN charge + 50% (25% formembers actual ISDN dial up charges |
URL: www.gescocorporatecentre.com Tel: 011-6419757/ 9597/ 9884 |
Most service providers are using a 128 kbps ISDN connection for the job. A typical studio for 4—6 users would have H.320 (ITU) standard-compliant equipment in a 15’x10’ room. This includes a codec for compressing/decompressing video, control system, a TV with built-in speakers to see the participants at other sites, an audio system, and a voice-activated camera with pan, zoom and tilt. Some centers also have whiteboards and overhead projectors for sharing data and VCRs for recording the meeting. NIC’s multipoint video-conferencing service can connect up to eight sites simultaneously, out of which any five sites can work in a ‘continuous presence’ mode. This means that each site can see up to four other connected sites in different quadrants of the monitor.
Today, finding a service provider can be a little elusive for a business customer, as you’d have to go through the hassles of doing an advance booking for a studio, and going to all the trouble of reaching it. So as of now, service providers are yet to emerge in this niche market in large numbers.
Benoy George