Spreading the wireless net

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: in the next six months. The question is not if broadband will take off but whether we can afford any further delay in allotting WiMax spectrum and miss the broadband bus,” says Soma Networks India managing director, Jatinder Ahuja.

What makes analysts like Gartner so pessimistic then? Clearly, there are hurdles like low computer penetration, high equipment costs and uncertainty over spectrum, but it does not seem to dampen the enthusiasm in any way. Even Gartner seems to agree that WiMax is around the corner but it differs on how sharp that corner is. “Near term, WiMax is still a niche technology and limited to enterprise and high-end residential users in urban India,” feels Gartner principal research analyst, Naresh Singh. Gartner forecasts that by the end of 2011, 6.9 million mobile and fixed WiMax connections will be in use. It goes to the extent of cautioning vendors that it is a gamble to participate in risk-sharing models with Indian operators.

Spectrum seems to be the biggest hurdle. Seven companies have been licensed to offer WiMax services in India, but in the 3.5 GHz band with a very narrow slot of 5 MHz each. “We would require 15 to 20 MHz to rollout the network on a decent scale,” says Bharti vice-president (technology), TV Sriram. The government also plans to open up the more widely used 2.5 GHz band and give each service provider more frequency, but it would be at least a few months away.

WiMax or worldwide interoperability for microwave access, for starters, is a telecom technology that provides wireless data over long distances in a variety of ways. It exists in two flavours. Fixed WiMax, or the d version, is essentially the same as DSL or cable broadband internet.

It is simpler, quicker and more cost-effective to erect WiMax towers and antenna than to lay wire and is generally seen as the viable option to reach new places that don’t have good broadband connections. Mobile WiMax or e version allows for roaming between WiMax base stations and offer users a true mobile internet experience.

As the mobile frequencies will not be available in the short term, WiMax rollouts in India are not likely to be available in large scale before 2009. While fixed would be the starter, industry expects to realise the full potential with the mobile version.