WLL flounders on interface issue

MTNL may put network augmentation on hold till V5.2 muddle is settled

Neeraja Kumar in New Delhi

Even as confusion reigns supreme amongst private operators, even Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) is contemplating delaying network augmentation plans, till the confusion of whether A+ interface will be allowed instead of V5.2, is sorted out.

The spectrum-greedy V5.2 is not merely outdated but also 40 per cent more expensive than the A+ interface, according to telecom experts who have raised concerns over both the financial viability and availability of enough spectrum for the former.

MTNL planned to install 1.5 lakh wireless in local loop (WLL) lines in three phases, stretched over three years. Of this, the first phase of 30,000 mobile and 20,000 fixed lines — both on V5.2 interface — should be ready for commercial deployment by next month.

According to sources, MTNL may delay implementing the next two phases, since it wants to go for the alternate A+ interface to set up the additional lines.

Confusion prevails over whether A+ will be allowed instead of V5.2. While the licence agreement says basic operators can “use V5.2 or an approved/improved interface” the clause is not clear. Operators say the ambiguity was designed to give the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) a way out of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) recommendation making V5.2 mandatory.
However, top DoT officials categorically say that “operators can only use an improved version of V5.2 and no other interface”.

Since V5.2 takes up a lot more spectrum, equipment manufacturers point out that to provide limited mobility to one lakh subscribers in an Short Distance Charging Area (SDCA) the government will have to release up to 12.5 Mhz of spectrum to each operator, instead of the 2.5 MHz that it is planning to allocate to each operator. Reason: V5.2 architecture requires about 10 carriers of 1.25 MHz each to cover one lakh subscribers in one SDCA Each. A+ architecture, on the other hand, can accommodate the same number of subscribers in only two carriers of 1.25 MHz each.

DoT officials however dismiss this concern saying that “only in metros will the number of subscribers cross 10,000 per SDCA and not in other places in the country. We won’t change our policies to suit only metro subscribers.”