Hence, dot com firms need the active support of the Government, according to Rediff Communications managing director Ajit Balakrishnan. ``Indian market with this kind of subscriber levels will only support two to three portals. The industry should take the initiative to drive the number (of Net subscribers) dramatically,'' he said here on Friday.

For the survival of dot com companies, the total number of Internet users should be about 30 to 40 million over the next three to four years. For that, there should be more Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and Application Service Providers (ASPs). India is likely to witness the availability of free Internet connections within the next six months, he said. Indian dot com companies, according to him, should create dedicated India-exclusive sites. The industry should also be able to create its own revenue. ``We should be able to create a market with a size of over Rs 2,000 crore in the next three years.''

Addressing a seminar on `challenges for spider (dot com) companies here on Friday, Chaitimes.com managing director Bhana Grover said the main challenge before the dot com companies is to build a brand in the Indian market place. Issues like infrastructure, talent pool, getting value-added funds, handling of growth are bugging dotcom firms, she added.

``The main focus of all dot com companies should be to retain the customer by offering customer royalty. In the era of digital economy, the focus is on brand, speed, experience of the customer, innovations and business models of the organisations,'' HP India president Ganesh Ayyar said.