Though Indian telecom sector is going through a up and down phase this time, mostly because of regulatory irregularity, spectrum price and lukewarm response to 3G services; many analysts bet high on Reliance Infotel’s upcoming 4G/LTE roll out in the country.
In 2010 Infotel Broadband bagged pan India BWA spectrum i.e. 20 MHz on 2300 MHz band in all 22 circles, soon after Reliance Industries took 95% of Infotel Broadband.
These India’s LTE services are distinct from most of the LTE roll outs in United States and Europe as there majority of carriers choose LTE-FDD and are deploying it over different bands like 700 MHz, 800 MHz and 1700-1800MHz; compared to Indian operators have to use LTE-TDD on paired 2300MHz spectrum.
Though it makes Indian operators to use a newer and less mature ecosystem, it also takes India to be pioneer in LTE-TDD space. In China LTE-TDD on 2300 MHz is still under trials, while Airtel has its LTE roll outs in three metros of India – Kolkata, Bangaluru and Pune.
BWA operators like Aircel and Airtel who spent a lot on 3G, are to bring price-conscious business model for 4G. Even Augere and Tikona is also following the same rule. Reliance Industries is also doing the same so that the price benefits can be sent to end-users.
Before roll out of LTE, one thing operators must have is linking the BTS with fiber optical lines, which can handle the huge data demand. Microwave based backhauls are not so efficient when the talk is about LTE. So operators here are creating their own fiber optic network. This opens up a huge market for gear makers. Top global players like Nokia Siemens, Ericsson, Alcatel Lucent, Huawei, ZTE as well as little known companies like Infinera, Samsung, Motorola, Ciena are targeting Indian market. India enjoys the second largest wireless subscriber base in the world, after China. So growth potential is huge for them.
For chipset makers Indian 4G landscape is a challenge as the market is very very price sensitive. Chipset makers – Intel, AMD, Qualcomm, Nvidia, ARM, MediaTek, Xilinx etc are pushing their R&D to make low cost chipsets which integrates LTE on board. Diversity in device offerings like tablets, dongles and routers as well as smart TV and many others will have to be innovative in offerings to reach deepest part of consumers.
It is expected that at inital stage all 4G devices will be available as bundled with operators’ services as LTE-TDD on 2300 MHz is not popular in other countries. So operators have to bring such devices. Your imported 4G/LTE smartphones or tablets will not work with Indian LTE services.
Interestingly Reliance Infotel is reported choosing unorthodox companies for their 4G roll out, say Samsung will deliver LTE base stations in Mumbai. There are also rumor that Adam maker Notion Ink is working with RIL to bring 4G tablets at an affordable price.
So in brief future is not dull at all. We can expect lots of fireworks on 4G space as two arch-rivals Bharti and Reliance Industries are going to appear against each other in next 2-3 months.
aaka December 3, 2012 at 10:56 pm
Sudhakar.. wireline speed stays constant while wireless fluctuates in india. u said right that qaulity of indian operators is low. i don’t blame to technology.i mean services differs from person to person. may be i misunderstood u.
SUDHAKAR December 4, 2012 at 6:50 am
Hey. In wireline broadband also BSNL people said that they have configured 768 Kbps upload speed in theor switch for my conenction. But it shows only 741 Kbps in the ADSL status in my modem’s console. I am not getting proper upload speed (of 768 Kbps) during the first 6 GB data at 1 Mbps download speed.
BSNL’s rule is that they must provide 768 Kbps upload speed (before reaching fair usage limit) for all plans that have download speed of 1 Mbps or more.
But I am getting only 70 to 75 KB/s (560 Kbps to 600 Kbps) upload speed when tested using speedtest.net site.
From this it has been proved that india is SLUM in terms of technology and technological implementation.
Sudhakar December 2, 2012 at 10:09 pm
I said that I am using Rs.750 plan in wireline broadband.
aaka December 3, 2012 at 11:04 pm
i don’t blame technology, i mean that services differs from person to person, u r right that operator puts limit on speed, and bcoz of 2100mhz spectrum,we face traffic and results in high fluctuations in speed resulting in bad video call. may be i misunderstood u
SUDHAKAR December 4, 2012 at 6:42 am
To aaka :
Hey. In Japan also they are using 3G 2100 MHz band since the year 2000. There are 2 or 3 operators (NTT docomo, softbank and others) all over the country and they all use only 3G network. There is no 2G. How come speed and quality rocks there?.
This itself shows the money robbing character and worst quality of indian mobile networks.
Sudhakar December 2, 2012 at 9:12 pm
To aaka :
See, each and every service / facility becomes a super hit only if it reaches a common man (like BSNL broadband). I held video conference in 4 Mbps (within FUP) BSNL Rs.1350 plan before. My parents in foreign has 2 Mbps connection. The video quality was near realtime. But it is acceptable.
4 Mbps means it is little more than basic 3G speed. Then why can’t 3G support video conference?. Don’t blame the technology. It is the providers who limit the speed. I get Airtel 3G at 21 Mbps. But actually I am getting only 7.2 Mbps even using with Huawei E182E modem.
To Gaurav :
Well said. +1. BSNL’s 2G speed rocks here (in Tiruchengode, TAMILNADU) with 20 to 25 KB/s speed (160 to 200 Kbps) speed. I use BSNL 2G for occasional browsing in my mobile. I am using BSNL Rs.750 combo unlimited plan (1 Mbps till 6 GB and 512 Kbps unlimited there after).
Pratap Madgulkar December 2, 2012 at 8:18 pm
agree to Esmail on 3G speed for people ,
but if we get something like IP-telephony which will be dirt cheap for long distance calling and data viewing , we can see TV on tablet and on the move also can call anywhere in the world in just a rupee. RIL must be looking fwd to free calling for 4g to 4g voice over IP .
as we say India enjoy cheapest calling rates , we do not consider the volume of call , US , canada have $10 free calling anywhere for a month it is like 500 Rs free calling anywhere in India all 30 days. also few operators in Thailand (like TRUE) provide low quality calling over net which also useful for weekend and night callings . I hope we can get something from 4G.
Esmail December 2, 2012 at 7:02 pm
Looking forward to LTE roll out in Mumbai just so that it can push 3G prices lower, speed wise 3G is more than sufficient for a common man, its only the tariffs that need to be more pocket friendly. waiting for MTNL to upgrade their HSDPA networks to HSPA+ a thing which has been in the pipeline for way too long now, Mr. AK Garg wake up and show ur dynamism.
PD December 2, 2012 at 5:42 pm
If like what the late Shri Dhirubhaiji did, his Sr.Son come up with bundled sets (remember good old CDMA set of Rs.500/-?), we can say Reliance Repeated History ! Else…..time will tell the story !
Gaurav December 2, 2012 at 3:08 pm
Yeah its true
3g is still not for all. I also use 2g connection on my S3..
Oops December 2, 2012 at 1:20 pm
Using Galaxy note 2…but in 2G….no 3g coverage :/
aaka December 2, 2012 at 1:12 pm
it’s another variety and it’s of high quality service… i know u can’t buy BMW X6 but it is running in india.. what u use sudhakar patel, people don’t bother, keep it for u itself,, u can reach mumbai by train and by flight.. VoIP is used in 3g but qaulity is low graded, voice breaks.. but in 4g,it’s different
Sudhakar December 2, 2012 at 12:41 pm
Amit :
We can make VoIP calls via 3G. I used to make voice chat using yahoo messenger and PC to phone calls when I used BSNL dial up internet itself. Then think about 3G.
I challenge that 4G will be out of the reach (costly) of a common man. Without reaching the common man itself (like 3G), India will jump tp 5G. Wait and see.
It is only in the technologically slum India where technology gets upgraded without becoming econimical for people to use and feel it. Will you say from this that India is developing in terms of technology?.
All GSM networks in India must be converted to 3G like in Japan and operators must provide affordable tariff packs for 3G.
Amit December 2, 2012 at 12:13 pm
@Sudhakar
4g is different from 3g as it is intented for wireless broadbad not voice services. And also it is much economical to use LTE,So both will grow parallely in india.
Sudhakar December 2, 2012 at 11:54 am
Read this :
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5G
LOL LOL LOL.
Sudhakar December 2, 2012 at 11:49 am
First of let 3G become a success by covering all the places like 2G. Then talk about 4G. Ok?.
Any idea about 5G?. LOL LOL LOL.