Infra spend for pan-India WiMax deployment pegged at Rs 10000-12000 cr

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Voice&Data Bureau
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The analysts expected the slots for BWA spectrum to cost India operators dearer than 3G block, the deployment of the WiMax services is not going to be any cheaper.

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According to an independent risk consultancy firm Protiviti Consulting, infrastructure spend on countrywide WiMax deployment is likely to cost an operator Rs 10-12000 cr to be able to support a subscriberbase of 55-65 mn.

Mritunjay Kapur, MD, Protiviti Consulting says, “WiMax rollout cost is likely to average in the range of Rs 1800 to Rs 2000 per user. For a GSM, operator the cost of 3G roll out will be little over Rs 1500 per subscriber as in case most of the operators 3G is going to be an overlay on the existing network

Funding for the rollout of will be critical as it will decided the speed of roll out, says Kapur. The operators will need to build a strong ecosystem before they launch the services. Thus the tech path taken by an operator that has pan-India presence will decide that tech plan of the other players that operate in select circles or do not own network.

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On the industry debate on the choice of technology for broadband access in India, Kapur said, “For a GSM player, it will be simpler chart the LTE path, however the technology will take 3 to 4 years to come to the country, he says, adding that he assumes the the telcos in India will take the LTE route.

The government has earned Rs 38000 crore by selling broadband wireless access,considering the high cost/subscriber to an operator, the prices are likely to be high. At present the number of people who access GPRS through their mobile handsets is about 140 mn and broadband penetration in the country is less than 1%, that brings in a huge opportunity.

All the winners, including BSNL have already paid the fee for the spectrum. Pan-India BWA licence-winner Infotel, which was recently acquired by Reliance Industries Ltd had paid its winning bid amount - Rs 12,847 crore. Smilarly, other players that have won various others telecom circles have also made their payments. They are - Bharti Airtel (Rs.3,314 crore), Qualcomm (Rs.4,912 crore), MTNL (Rs.4533 crore for Mumbai and Delhi) and Aircel (Rs.3,438 crore)