ChannelWorld

SIMMS: Tata communications is Tomizone's telco partner and uses the Tomizone system for additional Wi-Fi Hotspots. So, when a customer activates his broadband connection, he sees it as a Tata wireless hotspot. An added incentive for customers is when they use this wireless hotspot, the Hotspot owner gets user time credits automatically added to their broadband account. If customers use their broadband for a longer time, they get more user time credits. Customers will be able to use their Wi-Fi gadgets on any other Tata hotspot also while clocking up credits.

SIMMS: Our differentiator is the fact that we comply with Cyber law requirements out of the box. We have strong ‘Know Your Customer’ (KYC) systems. Tomizone also provides a high level of Cyber law security through our product, VIRGIL. Through VIRGIL, we are able to track what goes on behind a hotspot and who uses it. Before a customer logs in, we have a few mandatory security checks that we conduct and even track clients while they are on the Wi-Fi. Among other things, we store all the records generated about what device and hotspot a client is on. We also ensure through a simple check, that the person using the hotspot is actually the registered user. However, there is nothing we can do if there is a breach of physical security like giving away passwords.

The other differentiator is the self-activation system, which can be used by a customer for setting up his own hotspot without help from a technician. As a Wi-Fi provider we have tie-ups with several other Wi-Fi operator companies, and our clients can use a Tomizone hotspot anywhere in the world. For example, British Telecom (BT) can use the wireless infrastructure here in India with roaming. We have the interconnections needed for that in place.

SIMMS: Tomizone’s partner policy is such that we want to sign on the top partners in every segment that we deal in. Our partners have to be solid with the hospitality and education verticals, popular with their customers and they need to have a strong distribution network of their own. Some of our alliances, such as the one with D-Link have also helped us create a strong distribution network. Currently, we are also looking at linking up with other global players and strong local players. Our partners need to have a similar sales strategy and should be equipped to target Tier I and II customers. Business travellers and tourists are prime customers for where our deployments should be. We also target governments for the deployment of municipal Wi-Fi clouds.

SIMMS: The number of existing hotspots in India speak for the opportunity that lies here. We had been able to achieve 20,000 hotspots in Australasia pretty quickly and this was back in 2009. We recognize the fact that the number can be many times more in the as yet unexplored potential of India. We see the opportunity for many millions of hotspots in India for Tomizone.

SIMMS: Our strategy for SMB’s and enterprises differs in two ways. We have an indirect sales strategy for SMB’s, while sales to our enterprise customers are dealt with directly by our sales team in Bangalore and the global team. Through the indirect sales strategy, we have channel partners who sell to customers and also handle the distribution.

SIMMS: The next wave in the communications market is definitely going to be handheld devices that are high on computing power and have the power to always stay connected via Wi-Fi. That’s going to be the big wave here, mobile internet computing in your pocket.

SIMMS: Yes, we do have plans of looking at the government space in India. Tomizone recognizes the opportunity as the metropolitan infrastructure goes up through partners and government-owned service providers. We see massive opportunity in the railway corridor as well, particularly in the tourism market. We also can act as consultants to the government and give them advice on what else is going on in the Wi-Fi space and offer our guidance on cyber law policies, along with helping to increase usage and decrease costs. We are commencing discussions about possible deployments with the government too. In Australasia we have already deployed metro hotspots, while in India as we are recent entrants, our initial aim is to begin with private networks and slowly take it forward with respective state governments and check the kind of investment and infrastructure they are willing to put in place.

SIMMS: We are definitely looking to expand beyond Bangalore and are setting up offices at Mumbai and possibly also Delhi. We are looking at network growth and expect good business from Wi-Fi hotspots. Tomizone is also adding partners across all categories.