CASE STUDY: Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd : Providing The Missing Link

Interacting with teams in remote areas is vital but can be difficult.
Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd realized that in order to communicate
effectively with their employees across the country it needed a
videoconferencing solution. That's when Tandberg came into the picture and took
care of the requirement

In a country like India, where telecom penetration is still at low levels,
the average broadband bandwidth available ranges between 128 and 256Kbps, and to
many, video-conferencing seems a distant dream. But Power Grid Corpora­tion of
India Ltd (PGCIL) surmounted all odds and deployed a successful
videocon­ferencing solution to communi­cate with its employees located in remote
areas of the country.

PGCIL has a three-tier architecture. At the top of the hierarchy comes the
corporate center, then the regional headquarters followed by the sub-stations.
Sub-stations are the most important link in this hierarchy, but are remotely
located in sparsely populated areas. Thus, communication links in those areas
are not very sound-even normal telephone lines do not work effectively in there.
While communi­cating with them becomes difficult, it is absolutely necessary.

Initially, PGCIL thought of setting up improved telephone lines in such
areas, but found that it wouldn't work; these could only be used for giving
specific information, but what if reports were needed-and in bulk, at that?
Could they get such documents by post? “No, we needed something that would have
multi-faceted functions. That was when we decided

to deploy video-conferencing facilities,” said a PGCIL spokesperson.

Meeting challenges

Setting up a videoconferencing solution was a major decision for PGCIL, and
convincing them to use this technology was the first challenge.

This was because videocon­ferences were difficult to set-up, challenging to
use, and frequently unsatisfying in their ability to replicate in-person
meetings. However, making STD calls was an expensive option, and traveling took
a long time, which was hugely delaying decisions.

When PGCIL finally decide to implement videocon­ferencing, it undertook major
market research and tried different vendors before finally deciding on Tandberg
as their solution vendor. They found that not only were Tandberg systems more
robust and simple to deploy, but PGCIL didn't have to concern itself with
deployment hiccups; everything was taken care of by Tandberg.

PGCIL took the leap in implementing video-conferen­cing at a time when other
enterprises were using either normal telephony or e-mails. How they managed to
set-up the system with such low levels of bandwidth was the obvious question.
Well, PGCIL first leased integrated services digital network (ISDN) lines.
However, in time that too seemed insufficient; they finally set-up dedicated
converged networks. “People thought it was an expensive investment that would
not yield the desired results. But we had foreseen the future, and were sure of
its advantages even at that time,” said a company source.

Tandberg analyzed PGCIL's systems and requirements in depth, and provided the
best solution for its needs. Tandberg observed that PGCIL needed a
high-frequency solution to connect to its sub-stations, and that it should be
able to initiate video calls to 8-10 locations at a time. Another essential
requirement was that it should be able to work at 2Mbps or external network.
“Taking into consideration the requirement at PGCIL, we installed the Tandberg
800, 880 MXP, 1000 MXP and 6000 MXP videoconferencing solution,” said Ravi
Bhatnagar, Key Account Manager, Tandberg.

Tandberg also gave PGCIL the benefits of a one-step PC and audio plug-in, so
the system could be operated even by employees with no computer knowledge.

The present and future

PGCIL has 15 regional offices, and around 10 sub-stations across the country.
Today, it has most of its regional offices and sub-stations connected with each
other, and to the corporate headquarters in New Delhi, through the Tandberg
solution. It has also been able to address all the problems it faced; from
accessing reports to analyzing data, from project monitoring to budget
allocation. Everything is done via video-conferencing. The solution has resulted
in significant time and cost savings, and has facilitated knowledge transfer,
especially to people in remote sites who used to feel isolated from developments
in 'the outside world'.

The company now also imparts training to remotely located employees via the
medium. PGCIL's urban hubs have more information and better access to experts
since it is not feasible to take experts to remote areas for training, so the
employee training on various new technologies, policies and other internal HR
developments happens via videoconferences. At times, there is a need to maintain
a log of an ongoing conference, for further reference. The systems Tandberg has
installed enable taking a snapshot of the ongoing conference in JPEG format, as
well as storing a video of the conference.

Over time, PGCIL has realized that the visual component plays its own
powerful role in the communication process, and carries more impact compared to
telephonic or e-mail communi­cation.

DQC News Bureau