BANGAORE, INDIA: “To be or not to be 3G-WiMAX”, this existential dilemma seems to have jostled the Indian Government. The dispute between the Department of Space (DoS) and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) over vacating the broadband wireless access (BWA) spectrum, with the floor price set at 17.50 billion rupees, can delay WiMax rollout in the country till 2010.

WiMAX: The auction delay
Yatish Pathak, CEO and founder, SOMA networks, says: “The broadband market is by far under-served and has already been delayed. There is a sizeable market opportunity now that needs to be met and BWA/WiMAX is capable of doing so.”

According to C S Rao, WiMAX Forum (India), chairman, it is unfortunate that the spectrum auction is being delayed.

“In a country like India, where youngsters are looking for high-speed broadband to access online gaming, Internet, education, travel, and banking, WiMAX has got very high potentials. Moreover, if you want to include the society, such as rural India, where there are no quality teachers, then you need broadband,” he says.

WiMAX: Hopes set high
Irrespective of the setbacks, the Indian telecom industry seems to be abuzz with activities. Although there have been heated speculations on whether WiMAX can survive in the Indian soils, or would it also meet with the same fate as in the West, Indian telecos have set their hopes very high on this technology.

In the view of Yatish Pathak, WiMAX is a good technology but its application was grossly misunderstood. “It is a technology for the developing economies that have poor wired infrastructure. It cannot be compared with 3G or LTE – 3G/4G and WiMAX have their own value proposition and benefits,” he says.

Pathak points out that the overall rollout of broadband in India is comparatively slow; however, analyzing the plans of operators in the country, the growth looks promising.

“The government has set the target of 20 million broadband connections nationwide by 2010; however, the nation has only about 3.8 million connections at present, which clearly indicates the much needed efforts, especially in terms of infrastructure and cost-effective services to reach even half the target within this timeframe. Hence, the time for alternative technologies with minimal dependencies on infrastructure - WIMAX has arrived,” he adds.

WiMAX: Solving last mile connectivity
“We believe wireless broadband is poised to change the broadband landscape of India. Wireless supports better economics that can be transferred to the consumer, quicker roll-out and most of the existing copper lines in India aren’t of the grade to deliver DSL level broadband quality today,” opines Pathak.

Rao’s words also reflect the same point of view. “Today, we have copper wires which have a limitation of not being capable of driving high-speed broadband more than half a Meg. So with regard to data connectivity, WiMAX will improve broadband penetration in the country, and thus solving the last mile connectivity,” Rao says.

Mehul Kapadia, head, marketing, Tata Communications Internet Services Ltd, says: “We foresee tremendous scope for WiMAX since one of the major challenges of Internet penetration in India is last mile access, which WiMAX addresses.”

Goutam Awasthi, GM – marketing, Electronic Measurement Group, Agilent Technologies, adds that wireless technology has a bigger play in a country like India, where you can't put wires, or dig holes everywhere.

“The Indian government is very well aware of it and have been investing in these technologies. WiMAX is the best option for larger terrains and is today heading towards a stage of conformance and deployment,” he says.

“We are putting our focus on WiMAX because we believe it is the right platform to take Internet services across terrains and geographies with minimum disruption and in lesser time. WiMAX is a better alternative to address the last mile issue. We do foresee dial up subscribers going down in favour of broadband and WiMAX would be a part of that,” Kapadia signs off.

WiMAX has many takers and they also vouch for its success. However, how prepared is the market in terms of this new technology and will it reap profit as expected? If yes, then has India already got its first WiMAX service as claimed by many telecos?

Find answers to all these and many more in this special.

WiMAX: Go Unwired