In 1999-2000, Gujarat had around 35 Internet service providers, the highest in the country, which has now come down to seven apart from Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd.
Even these ISPs, including state government enterprises -- Gujarat Narmada Fertilisers Ltd and Gujarat Info Petro Ltd -- are trying to pull out from the business.
"This is a bad time for ISPs across the country and even in other parts of the world. Only a few who realised the boom would not last and, therefore, diverted to related businesses, are surviving and doing good business.
"Take the case of companies like Pukhyaplanet, Lanconet, Sigma, Mantra, Primenet and dozens of others in Gujarat, who have closed down and opted for other trades," said a senior official of Gujarat Informatics Ltd, the nodal agency for software in the state.
Icenet.net Ltd, which did extremely well till 2001, has now shifted its business to providing software solutions to domestic and overseas firms.
"Two years ago we realised the dial-up business was going bust since it stopped bringing in revenues. We are now focusing on the business of enterprise business solutions, billing solutions and storage," says Chirag Mehta, chief executive officer and managing director of Icenet.net.
"We exploited the market during the boom time and made money, but never cared for better or creative services," added Mehta.
Gujarat Narmada has also reworked its strategy to focus on software solutions and is trying to foray into storage products.
J S Kochar, chief of IT, GNFC Infotower says: "We know being an ISP alone will not do much for a company like GNFC. We have shifted to the infrastructure solutions and services business and targeting banks and financial institutions looking to popularise online transactions.
"We will also develop and market products and solutions that will help people and enterprises undertake e-business transactions on the Internet."
According to Chintu Jaiswal, technical head for Wilnetonline, a subsidiary of pharma-giant Cadila Pharmaceuticals, "We are existing only because we have understood people's requirements. We are offering services like wireless broadband and digital subscribers' line and even business solutions."
Gujarat Info is also struggling for survival. D J Pandian, director, Gujarat Info Petro Ltd, says: "We cater only to corporates, and therefore, we have less overhead expenditure. We also provide value-added services to our clients, which perhaps most other ISPs are not doing."
However, Growth, Jindal and Satyam are still running the show, but no one knows for how long. Says S N Khemka, chairman and managing director of Growth: "We have refocused on providing solutions and Internet-related software to our clients since we have found it is difficult to survive only with Internet services in our basket."
Growth, Jindal, and Icenet have also been trying to exploit the leased line and cable Internet services segment, which may help them to earn some revenue.
"We are focusing on providing bandwidth for corporates and Internet-on-cable, but with the entry of major players like Reliance and Tata in this segment, things may worsen," said a senior official of Satyam.
Pradeep Kumar, chief general manager of BSNL, Gujarat region, says: "We are existing because of our services, good speed and easy connectivity. We were not doing well till a few months ago, but we have redressed all infrastructure-related problems and are ready to offer better services. With growing competition, we have also slashed prices to remain in the business."
