I’ve provided additional thoughts on my post at http://techtrends.in/2007/07/10/internet-in-india-%e2%80%93-overcrowed-%e2%80%a6-not-in-all-verticals/

I’m also maintaining a taxonomy of Indian Internet sites at http://techtrends.in/company-index/

We are currently the fastest, most comprehensive (14 Airlines, 3 OTAs) and most unbiased travel search engine in the Indian market.

iXiGO can confidently claim to have the cheapest fares on any given sector on any given date since between the airlines and OTAs we show fares from, we are bound to find the cheapest options for you within a few seconds.

We show all prices with taxes included, and we dont claim to sell any 99 Rs. tickets because we want consumers to know the absolute price that hits their pockets.

Finally – try it once, and tell us if any other portal can match our prices, usability, or comprehensiveness for flights.

What is the use of having a jazzy Indian hotel booking website, if the connection is not good enough for most of the general public to access from their homes? If there are not many good hotels, with dependendable and consistent quality service, within reach of most of the middle-class?

Even Bangalore, the ‘Silicon Valley of India’, has only a paltry 66 hotels with 4700 rooms! (Source: http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/08/stories/2007020804440200.htm)

1. I’d like to differ with your statement about excess money going into Indian Internet startups. While VCs can pump over $5 mil in a round, it can take Indian companies to profitability and growth, far different from the US where $5 mil is part of an initial “prove something” round. A strong team of 20 engineers and business execs cost a lot less there. Also, getting visibility is much easier. The Indian entrepreneurial market is still nascent compared to the US. Bangalore is not even close to the Valley yet as it is still more prestigious to join a Fortune 500 operation even if the work is dreadful. The VCs are just beginning to fill in a key element of the entrepreneurial infrastructure.

2. My company, Position2, is an Erasmic funded startup. I can tell you firsthand that they are not typical of most VCs. They typically invest a modest amount of capital and then spend a lot of time with the start-ups. For us, they helped us identify and acquire what became our Indian operations. They’ve also worked on-site with our management team on operational processes. Google’s investment in the fund is a great and relatively inexpensive way to see really early stage stuff in a highly disciplined manner.

posted at IndianBytes.c…

Your information on the cost of DSL is inaccurate. it is not $300 (USD) per month, but 300 Indian rupees per month, and from some providers upto about 1000 Rupees per month. In dollar terms, this works to between $6 and $15 per month, which arguably is a very good rate (cheaper than what we pay in the US I may add). The concept of what a broadband connection should deliver in terms of speed remains unclear in India. Most basic broadband connections in India are worse than dial-up connections in the US. Although $6 to $15 per month seems like a “steal” in the US, the average Indian consumer does think a lot before dishing out this money. It may need to come to the $3 mark to reach inflection points (and of course PC penetration).

A rich broadband user experience will no doubt enhance the net surfing patterns in the US because I agree with Om. Todya’s net users are very transactional – they do their job and get out. Amazingly enough, I find myself doing exactly that when I’m in India and leave all the surfing for when I get back. Better and faster user experience will go a long way in changing some of this.