WiMax: Wirelessly Growing

While Indians are enthusiastic about the Internet, the lack of
physical connectivity and poor telecommunications infrastructure, and the cost
and lack of broadband technologies are a big hindrance to its widespread
adoption.

India is increasingly embracing wireless technologies, and
cellular phones based on these have revolutionized telecommunications in India.
But, these technologies have been unable to deliver broadband data connectivity
to households due to cost, and also complexity. India needs a way to provide
widespread Internet access, access that can usher in economic growth, better
education and healthcare, and improved entertainment services, as has been done
elsewhere in the world. And the solution has to be wireless-to avoid the
overwhelming costs and huge resources that would be required to deploy
countrywide fixed-line broadband Internet infrastructure.

With widespread wireless broadband facilities, the Indian
information technology industry can grow beyond just a few cities; students in
rural areas could avail of videoconferencing with educators across the country;
and entertainment programs could be telecast to remote areas along with Internet
telephony services using technologies like Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).
Improved communications could bring remote villages into the world economy,
information access could speed up worker productivity, and faster communication
between producers and suppliers could fuel demand for Indian products.

WiMaximizing Growth

WiMax is a wireless technology that will drive the rapid growth of broadband in
the Indian market. The features provided by the Rev e solution such as MIMO
(multiple input multiple output), S-OFDMA (scalable orthogonal frequency
division multiple access), AAS (adaptive antenna system), and beam forming, make
it a spectrally efficient solution capable of providing good QoS while
supporting mobility.

WiMax has the capability to support VoIP and other real-time
applications. This technology could be the key to bridging the digital divide
between urban and rural India. WiMax has additional advantages for countries
like India that don't have widespread broadband infrastructure already in
place. By leapfrogging to the latest technology, these countries will not only
gain the best broadband connectivity in a fixed environment, but will also have
the potential to add fully mobile high-speed data connectivity in the future.

As WiMax is standards-based, it can enable economies of scale
that will bring down the cost of broadband access and ensure interoperability
while increasing ease of implementation. Without standards, proprietary
equipment manufacturers supply the entire stack of hardware and software
building blocks. Restrictive licensing can also drive up costs. For the service
provider, standards-based products with fewer variants and larger volume
production will cut the cost of equipment. Competition among vendors will also
lower equipment costs. For consumers, wireless products will be differentiated
by service not technology, and thus the consumer will benefit from a variety of
competitive and cost-effective solutions that match their communication needs.

India is a land of diverse geographies, requiring comprehensive
wired communications infrastructure in place. But, there's none as yet. Wired
broadband technologies like digital subscriber line (DSL) connectivity can reach
only about 5 km from the central office switches, making them an expensive and
unrealistic option for the rural and remote areas of India. India also has some
of the fastest growing urban and suburban areas in Asia. Planning and expanding
the wired "last-mile" solution here is a challenge.

In new localities, it is a challenge for telecommunications
operators to estimate the physical wiring needed for future growth. Also,
maintenance and upgrading may necessitate excavating the earth to lay many miles
of extra cables. Both add significant operational costs. Cable broadband service
is another wired last-mile solution. Most cable broadband services in India
offer just 64 Kbps of connectivity. This is not significantly faster than a
dial-up connection and does little to improve the Internet user experience.

The government has set a goal of creating 20 mn broadband
connections by 2010. A cost-effective and scalable technology is required to
achieve this goal. WiMax offers an ideal solution with wireless, non-line of
sight, long-range and scalable broadband last-mile solutions that can meet the
requirements of the Indian market. WiMax gives service providers the ability to
bundle in VoIP and broadband data services with high-speed Internet access,
enabling voice and broadband data connectivity.

The WiMax Techvantage

The real key to WiMax is more than spreading data over multiple sub-carriers
to reduce individual data rates, and hence the impact of harsh propagation
conditions (spreading in frequency and time domain as well as multi-path
transmission). Similarly, cost reduction is not limited due to standards-based
equipment, unlicensed frequency bands, and ability to have larger cover-these
advantages are well available for CDMA-based HSPA where capacity is limited by
interference, says Dr AK Seth, executive director, R&D Center, Noida STP.

He goes on to say that the main advantage is orthogonality of
sub-carriers so that there is no inter-carrier interference (ICI). Further, it
allows use of 'cyclic prefix' which turns linear convolution into circular
convolution for cancellation of all inter symbol interference (ISI), so long as
the prefix interval is more than maximum delay difference among various
multipaths. These advantages allow use of spectrally efficient 64QAM or higher
Quadrature Amplitude Modulation schemes.

As far as cost of equipment is concerned, the reduction is based
on use of computationally efficient Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) algorithms for
Inverse Discrete Fourier Transform (I-DFT) in forward path and Discrete Fourier
Transform (DFT) in reverse path. These devices are almost identical permitting
the same hardware to be used when simultaneous transmission and reception is not
required. Simplistically, the technology allows doing away with distinct
modulators, oscillators, filters, and coherent demodulators. New sister
standards are also in progress for multi-hop operations (ad-hoc networking),
leading to wireless routers of the future.

The mobile WiMax standard (802.16-e) further supports
scalability so that different users can use different number of carriers in
addition to advanced beam forming antenna techniques for self provisioning of
end terminals. These advantages are over and above adaptive modulation,
selective frequency scheduling, service flow-based quality of service control,
and multi-level frequency sharing so that common frequency can be used close to
base stations and multi-frequency re-use at the edges where there is more
interference.

WiMax advantages have led 3GPP to propose use of WiMax
technology for its System Architecture Evolution (SAE)/Long Term Evolution (LTE)
in the 2010 time frame. Similarly, 3GPP2, led by Qualcomm, has acquired Flarion
which is working on 802.20-based WiMob standard. WiMax is a pure IP-based
standard with separate application, bearer, and control layers in accordance
with next generation network (NGN) philosophy.

WiMax Usage Scenarios

High-speed wireless broadband technologies based on WiMax promise
economically viable solutions to accelerate Internet adoption, revolutionizing
the Indian lifestyle. In urban deployments, multimedia applications and small
screen content/gaming could be killer application for WiMax. Broadband
facilities extend the reach and variety of personal communication to include
efficient VoIP, videoconferencing, instant messaging, and quick access to email.
Reliable Internet service for the masses can spur growth in e-commerce, and
increases the number of investors participating in economic activities such as
online stock trading. Broadband access can increase the effectiveness of
e-Governance initiatives, which can reduce wait times for services and increase
productivity in government offices. Broader Internet adoption driven by
cost-effective technologies like WiMax can speed and extend the reach of
government services at a reduced cost to both people and the government.

With higher bandwidth and faster speeds, broadband Internet can
make education more accessible by delivering interactive distance education at a
low cost. Agriculture and healthcare can also benefit from broadband services.
High-resolution pictures or real-time images of crop diseases can be transmitted
to agricultural experts in different geographies for immediate advice, thus
containing the diseases faster. Similarly, doctors can use real-time
videoconferencing to discuss patient symptoms with faraway experts, thus
providing faster and better care to patients. Advantages of broadband Internet
also include telecasting of entertainment programs and "on-demand"
movies, thus evolving infotainment service business models. Entertainment
delivered via broadband could be an event for social gatherings in isolated
villages.

The Service Providers' Stake

Bharti, Reliance, Sify, BSNL, and VSNL have all acquired licenses in 3.3 GHz
range and are in various stages of trials. VSNL has announced Phase 1 of pre-WiMax
deployment of Aperto gear in sixty locations, extending to 200 locations within
the year. BSNL has floated a tender for turnkey deployment of 1,000 WiMax e
version systems. BSNL has already announced a contract with Aperto for WiMax
deployment. The initial deployment will cover six cities: Kolkata, Bangalore,
Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, and Pune. The deployment will also cover four
rural areas. It has earmarked Rs 1,000 crore for the first phase of expansion.
MTNL is conducting two pilots in the country. Reliance is rolling out WiMax
access across the country in a phased manner in a few months' time.

Bharti Airtel is one of the first few operators to invest in
WiMax. "Bharti Airtel's broadband and telephone services are available in
94 cities. We have two million users and out of this, one-third is broadband
customers. We are looking at WiMax and pilots are currently on. However, total
investment in WiMax services will depend on clarity of spectrum policy. Also, we
need to have clarity on technology solutions being offered by vendors,"
says Atul Bindal, president, Airtel Broadband and Telephone Services.

Idea Cellular, which is aggressively expanding following the
successful initial public offering, is also investing in WiMax, primarily
focusing on the fixed part. It is conducting indoor WiMax trials in Pune,
Bangalore, and Kochi.

Aircel, which became the first in India to launch services on
the WiMax platform, has announced its plan to invest in WiMax infrastructure.

Vodafone doesn't want to miss out on the next big wireless
technology either. The mobile phone operator, one of the world's largest,
announced its decision to join the WiMax Forum. The step becomes important as
Vodafone has reach in emerging markets where it can look at deploying WiMax.
Vodafone's intentions were made clear by its CTO, Steve Pusey. He says
"Vodafone remains technology neutral as far as our future network options
are concerned, and joining the WiMax Forum is a logical step as we seek to
evaluate the full capabilities and potential of this technology." Although
Vodafone has made no announcement with regards to a WiMax launch in India,
judging by statements made by top officials of Vodafone, there seems to be a
keen interest in the technology.

On the ISP front, Sify is one of the largest fixed wireless
operators in India with close to 14,000 plus customers on wireless. Sify's
current solution is based on 802.16d based WiMax radios, and it is actively
looking at rolling out to major cities. Sify announced its WiMax solution with
mobility features, with the deployment of Proxim Wireless Corporation's
advanced wireless product in February this year. "We have currently
deployed this in five cities," says PK Saji, VP, Technology, Sify.

Vendors' Position

Companies like Nortel, Telsima, Airspan, Aperto, and Alcatel-Lucent are very
bullish on WiMax in India. Nortel president and CEO Mike S Zafirovsky says,
"This is a very exciting time for doing business in India."
Alcatel-Lucent has clearly demonstrated its keenness by establishing an R&D
facility in a joint venture with C-DoT Based in Chennai, it willl develop of
broadband wireless access solutions like WiMax. Similarly, Aperto Networks has
announced the establishment of an Aperto WiMax Development Center in Bangalore
for the purpose of accelerating engineering development and deployment of Aperto's
WiMax Forum Certified and WiMax-class products.

Telsima is very aggressive about India. They consider it as
their home market. "Telsima treats India as its home market, our product
roadmaps, features as well as price points are targeted to meet the business
needs of Indian operators," says Protip Ghose, VP, Telsima, Apac region.
"We have two tier-1 customers in India for whom we have begun deploying the
network since January 2007. Over ten cities are covered," adds Ghose. With
the establishment of R&D centers in India, it is becoming a hub for R&D.
This is especially beneficial to the industry as it will have more products
which have been developed out of India for Indian situations and cost.

Alvarion, responsible for building Airtel's WiMax networks
across India, has built Aircel's network in Chennai. Huawei has over sixty
patents to its credit. The company has set up strong harmonious collaborative
partnerships with the customer partners, standardization bodies and
semiconductor suppliers for development of standardized open standard systems
and technologies. Huawei is in a position to provide end-to-end carrier class
WiMax solution including the core and radio access network elements and various
type of terminal devices, CPEs, PCMCIA Cards, PDAs, and handhelds that offer the
lowest total cost of ownership. However, they are still waiting for the licenses
to be obtained by service providers. Another Chinese vendor, ZTE, is also very
keen on the India opportunity. However, big players like Ericsson and Nokia have
yet to come out with a clear-cut strategy on WiMax in India.

On to a Huge Success

With service providers very aggressive about their plans and strong R&D
facilities being established in India, there is a strong case for WiMax to
become a huge success. However, the government needs to act faster to solve the
spectrum allocation issues. WiMax does not only benefit service providers and
vendors, but will also benefit content providers as there will be a huge demand
for content services. More vernacular content will be needed, as WiMax will take
the Internet to rural areas. It will help in the penetration of various services
into rural areas, creating opportunities for new services. Services like
distance education, healthcare, marketing, etc will get a boost. WiMax has been
deployed as a filler for fixed line for last mile connectivity to provision
broadband Internet access by ISPs, standalone operators, and telcos. As the
business case of WiMax becomes resounding, all leading telcos across the globe,
not just India, are going to consider WiMax in a big way.

Nilabh Jha


nilabhj@cybermedia.co.in