BSNL should have gone for HSPA, says GSMA

BANGALORE, INDIA:  With the emergence of India as the second largest telecom industry in the world, mobile broadband has emerged as the real need of the Indian people. But the broadband  penetration in the country has been pathetically low.

According to the data available, the broadband penetration in the country is just 4.7 per cent. Further, the available infrastructure can only facilitate nine million broadband connections.

The mobile broadband technologies like High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), EV-DO, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) and Long Term Evolution (LTE) identify strengths and weaknesses in the emerging mobile broadband ecosystem with segments including technologies, standards and devices. In the Indian market, so far the state-owned telecom operator BSNL is going strong on deployment of WiMAX services.

The BSNL's decision has, however, come under severe criticism by experts in the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) who feel that BSNL should have opted for the technologically advanced HSPA.

In an interview with CIOL, the senior director (Services) GSMA  Jaikishan Rajaram speaks about the advantages of adopting the HSPA in the Indian context. Excerpts:

CIOL: BSNL is going ahead with the deployment of WiMAX services, what is your reaction?

Jaikishan Rajaram: With regard to BSNL's deployment of WiMAX, I was surprised for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is the first operator to obtain 3G spectrum and licenses in India, but instead of concentrating on building a head-start over the competition, it is choosing to invest first in a largely commercially-unproven technology.

In addition, there appears to be little thought given to backward compatibility and availability of WiMAX handsets. BSNL has also given no response as to how people can use true mobile broadband wherever they are; WiMAX is limited in its coverage - this is short-changing customers, when there are clearly better alternatives.

Finally, WiMAX has no economies of scale to speak of, so I can't see how a viable ecosystem can be created for a rich variety of handsets and cost-competitive infrastructure.

CIOL: What are the advantages that HSPA can provide over mobile WiMax?

JR: HSPA is a robust, proven and state-of-the-art technology for providing mobile broadband services, and it is fully compatible with GSM.  Already deployed worldwide by 217 operators, HSPA supplies high bit rate transmissions, excellent system capacity and very low latency, combined with wide area coverage.

CIOL: What can be the reasons for low broadband penetration is India?

JR: Low broadband penetration is mainly due to a lack of fixed-line infrastructure (i.e. there are no copper wires in the ground). India is a huge country, and laying more lines takes time and money. This is another reason why it makes economic sense to completely leapfrog fixed line and move straight to mobile broadband.

CIOL: What makes you think that mobile broadband has become the real need of the Indian people?

JR: The growth of mobile broadband will help to foster a long-term economic growth. Allocation of 3G spectrum to mobile operators will have a significant positive impact; driving innovation, job creation, productivity and competitiveness.

In terms of social benefits, policy makers have identified widespread Internet access as a critical tool in social development. It has an essential role to play in improving health, wealth, education and social mobility, bridging the digital divide between rural and urban areas.

CIOL: What do you think are the major challenges before the service providers?

JR: The main challenge is to keep up with demand for both voice and data services. This manifests itself as coverage issues, congestion issues, infrastructure sharing and so on. In addition, pricing towards the Indian public should be affordable, as ARPUs in India are low.