The Daily Star (TDS) : Tell us about your company

SH: I always wondered if the dial-up Internet connections in our country could have a monthly fixed flat rate and higher speed. And the best thing would be if we could spare the phone line. So came the idea of cable broadband. We chose coaxial cable. A single trunk which spreads in branches and reaches clients up to some distance. Our experimental phase on cable networking started after we got our licence in October 2000. Finally, in May 2001 CGS Communications was officially launched.

TDS: What is your opinion on low cost broadband services and how soon will it be before your company offers it?

SH: The reason why broadband is still so expensive in our county is high bandwidth cost. This cost can be slash down dramatically when the submarine cable will finally be installed and the landing party, BTTB (Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board), slash its price. We hope by the end of 2004 we can reduce our rate by one fourth.

TDS: It is estimated that Bangladesh will have the most Internet users by 2005. What plans do you have to tap the growth?

SH: It is fascinating how the use of Internet is growing every day. At present, we have more then 300 clients and the number is growing every day. We are planning to expand our bandwidth. Currently, our current mode of distribution is the 'proprietary' mode where each user needs an expensive cable modem. But from the end of this year we will introduce a new technology called DOCSIS, which will slash down the installation cost.

TDS: Are yours a profitable venture?

SH: Not yet. We are near the break-even point. So far, we have tried our best to keep the cost down and provide quality service. From the very beginning we tried to focus on the service and not the volume of users. That is why we only focus on corporate clients.

TDS: What does 2004 hold for CGS? What are your financial predictions?

SH: I believe by 2004 the mushroom growth of ISPs will come down and the existing ISPs will try to improve their performance. My ISP is one of them. We have plans for more bandwidth. We don't want to go for mass marketing. We want to improve our level of services for our professional clients. We shall also introduce wireless and dialup service, which will be as good as DSL or cable broadband.

TDS: Tell us about your ISP's selling strength and weaknesses.

SH: We are not a big ISP. We serve only to the extent to our ability. To maintain an optimum quality, we need to provide as much bandwidth as we are capable of. During the past two years we have suffered a lot. Our main enemy was power crisis and natural disasters. And another major problem we faced was the cable management, as Dhaka City Corporation does not have a proper cable management plan. Although the BTTB has a system called DDN (Digital Data Network) but the charge for a 64Kbps carrier is Tk 6,000, which is very high. 'Duct' is very important for wire management. The DCC or BTTB should go for it.

TDS: What is your current market focus and what type of selling are you driving for?

SH: At present, our focus is on corporate clients and cyber cafes. We are not encouraging home users, its not financially feasible. We will introduce new technologies such as 'Unified Messaging' by the end of August. This will provide SMS features via net and e-mail through cell phones.

TDS: What are your customer flow management and database issues?

SH: We have in-house software developers. At present, they are working on Customer Relationship Management software. This helpdesk software will enable a client to e-mail their complaint and on-screen power failure notifications. This will make us proactive. We also maintain a client database.