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All the speculation surrounding Mukesh Ambani's decision on whether he plans to use the BWA spectrum acquired from Infotel for WiMax or LTE
rollout, seems to have been put to rest today.
After a successful demonstration of the first LTE-TDD
call in India, by Ericsson, at their Gurgaon headquarters in July, today the leading solutions provider showcased another successful field trial, as well as demonstrated the complete ecosystem for LTE-TDD in India, partnering with RIL
for the same.
According to an RIL spokesperson, “This LTE trial not only demonstrated the superiority of LTE-TDD technology, but it also strengthened our confidence in the timely availability of LTE eco-system in India with ERICSSON
global deployment expertise. This is an important milestone for the Indian telecom industry in showcasing LTE performance on a live network. We look forward to leveraging on the pilot to set up a commercial network that will build on a globally standardized eco-system and technology that offers immense potential for a wide spectrum of end-user offerings.”
Promising customers indoor connectivity, outdoor mobility, high-speed data access and downloads for mobile broadband on the 2.3Ghz BWA
band, the trial today demonstrated the availability of the complete ecosystem in place, as offered by Ericsson, available for LTE rollout in India by Reliance. This is contrary to the stance that many experts in the industry put forth till date, stating that the delay in BWA rollout by RIL-Infotel
With peak rates of 80 Mbps in the downlink and 20 Mbps in the uplink.for the specified configuration/setup, the ecosystem capabilities were also showcased using ST Ericsson dongles connected over the air to the base station, showcasing a seamless connection. As part of the trials, applications such as HD
Multimedia Streaming and Live TV were demonstrated with on-the-move speeds of 50 and 70 kms per hour, as well as a seamless handover among the number of LTE Base Station Sectors.
Remarked Gowton Achaibar, Head of Region, Ericsson India, “Today's trial validates the future of ubiquitous high speed mobile broadband in India showcasing the availability of LTE-TDD. Consumers are now very close to realizing through high performance networks, the full promise of mobile-broadband, ultra-high data speeds for services such as internet TV, mobile video-blogging, online video games and the mobile office-environment. We are delighted to be an integral part of Reliance's LTE showcase as it underscores a firm commitment to standardized technologies that will benefit from economies of scale and global experiences". The trial was conducted at the Reliance Corporate Park, Navi Mumbai, which is the nerve center for RIL's ambitious plans for launching next generation mobile broadband services on a pan-India basis.
In the past, Ericsson and Huawei
have stated that they have the complete infrastructure and equipment needed to upgrade to LTE, and while conducting successful trials worldwide, they were just waiting for the technology to come to India, to bring their products here as well. Qualcomm is already keen on LTE, and an interest in 4G and LTE has been shown by many greenfield operators who did not win 3G
spectrum as well. What remains to be seen is whether the other successful BWA spectrum winners will follow in the footsteps of RIL and start conducting LTE trials, or maximise their RoI by rolling-out WiMax for the moment, and upgrading to LTE later, when a universal standard is found.
berylm@cybermedia.co.in