Abstract

This caselet discusses the telecom connectivity problems that India faced in the 1980s and how the problems were fixed by Sam Pitroda, who became famous as the “Father of the telecom revolution in India” after that. Born in the small village of Titlagarh (Odisha, India), Sam acquired his Masters in Physics and Electronics in India. Later, he left for Chicago to pursue his Masters in Electrical Engineering and soon after became engrossed in coming up with many groundbreaking inventions in the field of technology. He also started a company called Wescom Switching Inc. Microprocessors for telephones, the electronic diary, and Compucards were some of Sam’s creations which brought him into the limelight. During that period, the telecom service in India was really bad. The Indian Government was struggling to tackle the issue, given its scarce resources and low level of technological knowhow. It was then that Sam Pitroda came to the rescue and offered his services. With assistance of $36 million from the Indira Gandhi-led government, Sam established a Research & Development organization named C-DOT. With Sam’s expertise and the tremendous effort put in by the other members, C-DOT was able to provide solutions to all the problems plaguing the telecom sector. Sam also introduced PCOs. The concept provided easy access to telephones in remote places. The case also highlights the entrepreneurial side of Sam Pitroda and his business ventures in Chicago. Sam served in various responsible positions in varied fields and this gave his valuable inputs. Sam Pitroda earned many prestigious awards including the Padma Bhushan from the Government of India, and 20 honorary PhDs from various Universities.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Get to know about the telecom connectivity issues that India faced.
• Understand the revolutionary transformation of the telecom sector.
• Analyze the challenges faced and contributions made by Sam Pitroda.

Keywords

Telecommunication,Connectivity Issues in India,Sam Pitroda’s revolutionary ideas,Government’s Support,Transformation of telecom & IT sector