'WiMAX will play key role in pushing broadband'

NEW DELHI, INDIA: With urban markets in India already reached high levels of telecom penetration and approaching saturation, the next wave of growth for Indian telecom service providers is the massive Indian rural market.  And to tap this lucrative market, service providers in India are looking at WiMax as the technology that will help them connect with rural masses.

Country leading service provider, Bharti Airtel sees investment in WiMax technology as the wise bet  to cover cities and sparsely populated areas for providing last mile access. The service provider is following other leading service in the country to deploy WiMax nets in the country to address the extensive opportunities provided by broadband in rural areas through WiMax technology.  The company conducted field trials to prove the technology deliverables and subsequently completed commercial deployment in 2007 for Fixed WiMax.

Idhries Ahmad of CIOL caught up with TV Sriram, Vice President, Technology, Bharti Airtel to understand how Bharti Airtel looks at this new technology and its plans for roll out in country. Sriram also shares why operators need to invest in a relatively new technologies like WiMax when competing and well entrenched technologies like 3G HSPA are already on plate for operators in India.

Sriram also delves as to why Airtel has faith in WiMax technology as the best bet to connect rural India.

CIOL: Can you brief me on what is Airtel doing in the WIMax arena.  

TV Sriram:  Airtel has been closely following WiMAX technology since early 2003 and started evaluating the technology in 2004 for meeting the last mile connectivity requirements of Enterprise customers.

To this effect, field trials were conducted to prove the technology deliverables and subsequently commercial deployment completed in Year 2007 for Fixed WiMax. Airtel is currently operating fixed WiMax networks across 20 major cities in the country and is deploying Fixed WiMax (802.16d) for last mile connectivity to Business customers - Enterprise & SME market segments in select pockets of the geography.

CIOL: Who are the major vendors that you are working with and can you share some of experiences when it comes to roll out of WiMax services?



TV Sriram:  We have deployed Alvarion Breezemax BTS and CPE for fixed WiMAX services and are backhauling Wimax BTS via fibre or Microwave whichever is available at the sites as we are using our existing Mobile network infrastructure. We at Airtel are currently utilizing WiMax services directly to meet the requirements of enterprise / corporate customers only.

CIOL: Why do you feel WiMax is the solution to bridge the last mile divide in India.  Why do you see WiMax as a superior broadband technology?  



TV Sriram:  Airtel positions WiMax technology as a last mile access solution for providing basic services like Broadband and VOIP to its customers from the Enterprise, SME and retail segments.

WiMax is an easily deployable technology that can offer broadband wireless access up to 30 miles for fixed stations and 3-10 miles for mobile stations.

It is a good way to cover cities and sparsely populated areas and is good for providing last mile access. Also the quality of services offered through WiMax is guaranteed even in terrains that are not flat, unlike WiFi. Hence telecom operators are looking at it as a viable technology to provide broadband connectivity, especially in rural areas.

CIOL: What are the services that WiMax will help to roll out seamlessly in rural India?

TV Sriram:  WiMax is expected to play a key role in improving the broadband penetration in India and providing services such as Telemedicine, E-governance and E-education in rural markets.

CIOL:  What are challenges you see in the roll out of WiMax in India given the delay around spectrum allocation and cost and availability of equipments?.



TV Sriram:  The elements which are important for the success of WiMax in India include factors such as the availability of equipments, CPE (indoor, portable, and nomadic) at the right price points for economies of scale and issues related to performance, service capabilities & support.

However, the availability of sufficient quantum of spectrum is the most critical factor behind enabling retailing opportunities for WiMax. Since, India has low levels of broadband penetration, WiMAX will play a key role for improving broadband penetration in the country.

CIOL: And how do you see it competing with other technologies like 3G HSPA. Or do you see HSPA and WiMax not competing but rather complementing technologies.

TV Sriram:  While 3G technology is predominantly for voice and WiMax is for transfer of data, the timing of 3G and WiMax licenses and the bandwidth granted to each technology will play a key role in determining the future mobile broadband market share between 3G and WiMax. The permission for mobility in the WiMax service will also play a role in determining the future of WiMax services in the country.

CIOL: Why should operators invest in a new technologies like WiMax  when there is already 2G infrastructure of operators ready to roll out their 3G services?



TV Sriram:  As I said the timing of the grant of 3G license and the spectrum allocated to telecom operators for the service will play a crucial role in determining the future of the service. Thus, in case WiMax gets a priority from the Government it will help telecom operators to get the first mover advantage of offering mobile broadband through WiMax technology.

Also WiMax as a technology is easy to deploy and is a good way to cover cities and sparsely populated areas for providing last mile access. Hence, the need for investing in new technologies like WiMax. 

CIOL: On completely different front, the biggest obstacle in the way of rural infrastructure expansion from the service provider's perspective is less RoI and high Capex and Opex. In India the ARPU for a rural user is considerably low when compared to an urban user. In this light what are opportunities for Airtel to expand their portfolio in rural India.



TV Sriram:  Telecom operators are looking reach out to the rural areas of the country by utilizing WiMax technology as it is easy to deploy and is a good way to cover cities and sparsely populated areas for providing last mile access without incurring extensive investments. Telcos will be able to address the extensive opportunities provided by broadband in rural areas through WiMax technology.

CIOL: What is the business sense for operators to roll out services in Rural India? Any alternative revenue model you see service providers contemplating.



TV Sriram:  The urban areas in the country have already reached high levels of telecom penetration and the next level of growth is set to come in from rural areas as customers increasingly adopt mobile telephony to address their communication needs. Hence, even though the ARPU’s from rural areas are lower as compared to urban areas there is a growing focus by telecom operators on reaching out to this set of customers and increasing the telecom penetration in the rural areas.

CIOL: And why don't operators see rural India as opportunity to roll out their services?



TV Sriram:  As i said, the telecom penetration levels in the urban areas have reached a fairly high level, telecom operators are focusing on rolling out their services and addressing the growth opportunity offered by the rural areas of the country.

CIOL: How do you see the initiatives from TRAI and DoT with regards to broadband penetration India?

TV Sriram:  Today, Indian telecom service providers have allocation in the 3.3 GHz band to operate broadband wireless services. However, the regulatory bodies like TRAI and DoT are yet to take any policy decision to allocate spectrum and quantify how much needs to be given to service providers for operating WiMax certified profiles in India. While, we have been hearing that most likely 2.5 GHz band shall be freezing for WiMax operations in India, we are awaiting final decision on the same.

The interview was conducted before the 3G policy was announced.