WiMax Forum says Qualcomm bid for BWA will delay mass adoption of broadband among Indians

WiMax Forum India on Wednesday said Qualcomm's decision to bid for BWA spectrum will delay the mass adoption of broadband wireless services by Indians.

Speaking to Voice&Data, CS Rao, chairman of WiMax Forum India, said: "it will delay the adoption of broadband wireless access by Indians."

"TD-LTE does not have any single product to showcase. It is not near the level of testing, maturity and scalibility. It is not even a global standard. This move will help Qualcomm to buy spectrum that can be used after 2-3 years. It does not help India achieve its wirelss broadband target," he added.

"Since TD-LTE is still evolving, no operator will be able to launch services in the near future. WiMax is a proven technology with 300 devices from 30-40 leading vendors worldwide. Globally, many operators are looking for FDD-LTE and not TD-LTE. Since TD-LTE, which operates in 700 MHz, will take lot of time to develop a strong ecosystem, India will not get cost effective products from them," Rao said.

According to industry experts, the Qualcomm move will disturb the broadband wireless market. They say this is the first time that a vendor is directly involved in buying spectrum in India. Since Qualcomm is a cash rich company, the move may escalate the price of BWA spectrum.

Qualcomm has a history of participating in spectrum auctions to expedite the commercialization of new wireless technologies. By participating in India's BWA spectrum auction, Qualcomm can foster the accelerated deployment of TD-LTE.

If successful in winning spectrum in the auction, Qualcomm intends to secure Indian partners after completion of the auction and in compliance with the applicable Indian Foreign Direct Investment regulations. Qualcomm and its partners intend to demonstrate TD-LTE technology with the goal of creating a TD-LTE infrastructure and device ecosystem that, in concert with 3G networks and devices, will support India's broadband goals. Qualcomm and its partners will decide the venture's strategy in due course. Qualcomm's goal is to attract an operator partner or partners into the venture at the appropriate time for construction of a TD-LTE network in compliance with the Indian Government's rollout requirement for the BWA spectrum and then to exit the venture.

TD-LTE is compatible with 3G WCDMA/HSPA and EV-DO, and will enable a seamless broadband experience for consumers within India and while roaming globally. In India's unpaired 2.3 GHz spectrum band, TD-LTE is the technology best suited to complement current and upcoming 3G deployments and address India's rapidly growing demand for high bandwidth broadband services.