Modem Today, Gone Tomorrow
The days of dial-up modems, particularly the external models, are numbered. But thanks to DSL-based broadband connectivity offered by telcos such as BSNL and Bharti Airtel, the ADSL modem got a major boost. This was primarily due to a 120% increase in broadband subscriber base. The modem market grew 30% in unit terms, but less in terms of revenue due to a drop in prices. The number of broadband subscribers (with a download speed of 256 kbps or more) stood at 2.06 mn at the end of OND 07.

While dial-up modems are gradually fading away, ADSL is gaining market share with a wider penetration of broadband. ADSL2+ continued to be the prevalent technology, due to high costs of the VDSL2 chipset. Atrie continued to rule the modem market selling 262,000 units followed by Bharti Teletech with over 404,384 units. Bharti Airtel added 283,114 broadband subscribers, which proved beneficial to Bharti Teletech. MRO-Tek sold 35,000 units but registered a negative growth as was the case with D-Link.

Cabling major, Sterlite took up ADSL2+ modem manufacturing in its facility in Aurangabad. Sterlite got an order from BSNL for 3,000 units of its SAM100 ADSL 2+ modem, designed for single-user residential applications. Dax Networks whose market share has been on the decline, decided not to focus on this segment.

Sudesh Prasad
sudeshp@cybermedia.co.in
With inputs from Voice&Data

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