Everyone is very much optimistic about growth in data market, the next wave of telecommunications. It is saying data is the future. But on my personal take data demand is already high but it is yet to take off as we are waiting to see the price barrier to be broken down.
Recently I had to visit three stores in single day – Reliance World, Tata Docomo Store and a common retailer store. I find everywhere people are queuing up queries on the wireless broadband, unlimited plans & the hidden conditions of them and other stuffs.
4G/LTE can bring that much-awaited broadband revolution, but it totally depends on the operators as well as government. With the high priced auctions operators cannot roll out wireless broadband with cheap tariff.
In India situation of wired broadband is very poor. In developed countries wired broadband over DSL or cable or fiber is available on almost every homes, and people know about WiFi to share that connection over multiple devices. As a result on these regions people consume lesser data on mobile networks. While developed countries have computers in most houses, here in India a common man goes online for first time over his mobile devices. So people in India will consume more data on mobile networks. Apart from device issues, India’s broadband coverage is poor. LTE can be best alternative to provide last mile connectivity/FTTH.
BSNL is not the answer to India’s broadband need. BSNL is torn up with government policies, red tapes, employee politics and competition from private players put it into losses. Already BSNL has planned to surrender its BWA spectrum on 2600 MHz band. That’s is a good decision as 2600MHz is not an economical band, rather BSNL must procure 700MHz band spectrum for BWA in coming days. BSNL is offering wireless broadband over 3G/HSPA and CDMA EVDO-RevA; but both of networks are either poor in quality or coverage due to no expansion of services and poor maintenance.
Forget BSNL! As we talk about LTE, Qualcomm says Indian operators should try building their own ecosystem of LTE over the spectrum they have. I agree. We can see RIL Infotel is building its own ecosystem around LTE-TDD over 2300MHz. They are going to use SPIRIT-DSP’s Video-Voice-over-IP engine over LTE-TD network to offer voice and video calls. In a recent report Infotel will offer MiFi devices i.e. portable/pocket sized WiFi Hotspot devices which will connect 4G to WiFi enabled devices including smartphones, tablets, and laptops. This strategy is cool in a sense as there are fewer device options available on LTE-TD front. Also consumers don’t have to upgrade their smartphones or tablets if they are using 4G MiFi Routers.
Infotel understands that microwave based backhauls are not so good while transmitting data at more 1Gbps, so they are laying OFC across India. With these OFC are at place, Infotel can be a wired ISP too.
Delay of rolling out 4G services by Infotel can be justified as Airtel launched 4G with poor coverage & level I LTE which gives very negative experience on 4G. It seems Airtel did rolled 4G out in hurry. Airtel is one of the biggest success story on telecom, its outsourcing model is adopted by many operators, but I must say 4G/LTE is a big flop show from Airtel. Even they now stopped promoting 4G.
Videocon who bagged 5 units of 1800MHz airwave in 6 circles, has announced to launch LTE on its network. Videocon who was not considered as a serious player on 2G until now, is seemed to be take a bold decision. For last couple of months mobile subscriber addition has been slowed down and days of rock bottom tariff is gone; Videocon cannot add more customers on 2G for sure. It is expected that Videocon will use 2 x 1.4MHz for LTE and remaining 2.2 MHz for voice services. Videocon will have better understanding with LTE on 1800MHz. First it would be LTE-FDD which has better ecosystem and it is widely deployed in US and Europe. So many devices are available. Secondly Videocon can be a part of wireless broadband revolution bypassing 3G.
Tikona Digital Networks who secured BWA spectrum in 5 circles [Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh (east and west) and Himachal Pradesh] is also planning to roll out services on LTE-TD platform starting from middle of 2013. Aircel has similar plans but no details have been available. Though there is no details about device strategy, Tikona CEO Prakash Bajpai told that 4G from Tikona will have disruptive pricing as low as 2-5paisa per MB (translates to Rs 20-50 per GB). It is near to Infotel’s earlier plan to offer ultra high speed data at Rs 10 per GB.
Back again let’s discuss how to break the price barrier:
- 3G data can be cheaper if offered via MVNO players. New telecom policy is to come with proper policy on MVNO.
- People love ‘unlimited’, but at the same time youngsters who will consume more data than any other age group understand what FUP is. If the fair usage policy is not fair, they will simply abandon it. Post-FUP speed is important for them.
- ‘True Unlimited’ is a nice thing. But operators can offer it on night hours only. In UAE Etisalat is offering 1am – 4am unlimited usage on its 4G/LTE network. It also can be used acid test for the network.
- Be innovative: Offer 4G connections at a dirt cheap rate with Cyber Monday or something like that. In new rolled out areas, offer some devices free of cost, so that 4G can be hit by favor of mouth. There must be several plans for different types of customers’ needs: Night plans, weekend plans, social plans, VoIP plans etc etc.
- Content is important. Offering games, movies or TV is not everything. Think about something like YouTube unlimited for Rs 10 for a week.
4G players can tie up with existing mobile operators, so that 4G data can be sold in a bulk rate but ultimately it will give consumers better choice. MVNO players on 4G or 3G can be game changers like we see in North America and Europe.
Currently EVDO based wireless broadband is mostly dongle based, while 3G/HSPA based high speed wireless internet is used over dongles as well as mobile phones. With CDMA operators are reductant to offer EVDO on mobile phones, EVDO did not get much success beyond dongles; users had to move to GSM as to 3G/HSPA.
Analysts are thinking in the same way – 3G will be costlier than 4G, 3G will become a premier service on mobile phone. But ultra low tariff on 4G & a MiFi device means users can enjoy high speed internet on mobile phones via WiFi. That may kill 3G without proper take off as people don’t care about technology; they need best thing in best price to access internet faster & cheaper. Airtel & Aircel have big problem as they have both 3G and 4G, while Tikona and Infotel has only 4G. These 4G-only players’ disruptive moves can drive the data growth while 2G and 3G pricing have to be slashed down in a fast way. But only thing 4G players have to confirm is good coverage.
kunal December 19, 2012 at 3:41 pm
Mr. Nilesh patil,
For your kind information, MSC has two types , MSC – 1 AND MSC – 2 ,
Likewise in 2g BSC is required.
Go to any technical person and he will elaborate you . Every exchange give BSC Installation permission , but in 3g BSC is not required. As 3g is a UMTS – TERRESTRIAL technology. But a single MSC alone is not sufficient to handle all 3g operations. In every district headquarters a MSC has to pre installed , approximately 60 days prior to 3g launch in that area.
For your better understanding , take out some time and go through – http://www.3gpp.org
and read the different releases . A MSC – 1 switching centre does not keep all track records like – VLR , MSC – 2 do so.
Until MSC – 2 is not installed 3G can’t be launched.
Amrit December 19, 2012 at 8:56 am
its 2g here only in my area, how can all network operators think about 4g?? first they shoud provide 3g to all areas of our country then.. 4g, 4g means 100MB/s which is impossible for indian telecom operators.
Nilesh Patil December 17, 2012 at 1:36 pm
Mr. Kunal r u from telecom field? if not then get ur knowledge updated . MSC means main switching center and it is to be installed by each opertaor seperately. BSNL do not provide space at their premises for MSC . As per MOU’s operators provide space to each other for installation of BTS for mobile services. How vodafones msc can lie in BSNL stores ? who has given u this wrong information? update ur knowledge before writting these biased things on net.
Kunal December 17, 2012 at 8:52 am
Hey All,
Im not sure about videocon or tikona . But I assure you all that INFOTEL(RELIANCE) will offer rates similar to now a days 2G data packs . Reliance 4g will be cheaper because they have developed a model in which putting 1 tower will cost nearabout 1 to 2 lacks only. It simply means more towers- more coverage – more customers- LESSER PRICE FOR CONSUMERS . Now a days a 2G tower takes 30- 50 lacks. Reliance will launch it with some delay , as fiber laying is not a single day ‘s work. One has to take permission from many of the government departments, and you all know how these work.
For all of you guys , if you are blaming your private operator for not providing 3G in your area, then you are wrong. Actually BSNL gives every operator MSC to deploy 3G ,in their exchanges. And Im myself a witness of their injustice. In my city VODAFONE has been trying from past 2 years to deploy 3G and their MSC are lying in BSNL stores . Even after a very good space for installation they are not willing to install these. They are afraid that the subscribers will move out of their network to private ones , as they know the truth about their services.
Pratik December 17, 2012 at 12:34 pm
Don’t expect too much from RIL.
QED December 17, 2012 at 8:44 pm
What ! You got some serious issues in that top floor of yours man, RIL spokesman in disguise |-:
Rajeev December 18, 2012 at 8:36 pm
Vodafone MSC in BSNL stores! nonsense!
Sougata Dhar Chowdhury December 17, 2012 at 7:40 am
Thanks a lot Rudradeep for this well-researched article. It really raises hope about 4G.
But what makes me skeptical about the mi-fi concept is that the 4G spectrum going to be used here will be too much power-hungry and that will drain out the battery of the portable router in no time, making it an impractical proposition. I use Olive portable router which can make a hotspot using 3G or EVDO dongles. Its battery is rated to last only for 1.5 hours. This is true for other mi-fi systems available in the market.
softdina December 16, 2012 at 10:39 pm
What about BSNL’s WIMAX? bhaiya!
Amit Kumar December 17, 2012 at 2:30 pm
Wi-max is no more R.I.P , WiMax spectrum was returned to government after failure.
Sam December 17, 2012 at 5:41 pm
Have some Correct info . Wimax is already launched in Some Cities by BSNL . They Surrendered some of Non-Profitable Wimax Spectrums . And also LTE by BSNL in Pune with in an Year !!!
Amit Kumar December 19, 2012 at 3:41 pm
I know about this launch.BSNL wanted to return whole spectrum but was denied.so buddy do u still think wi-max will strike back? For now 4G means LTE, no telecom operator is launching Wimax using 2.3 GHz spectrum, BSNL and MTNL are public bodies they always take time to grab latest technology.
Rudradeep Biswas December 19, 2012 at 4:15 pm
With BSNL and MTNL WiMAX is dead for sure like a hell!
Raam December 16, 2012 at 10:23 pm
Our operators get 2G, 3G, or 4G licence, and earns well by all means through back door or front door, but simply they cheat public, they never mind about good service, and they never wished to give a good data service. Indians are very poor in getting right speed and data.
Amit December 16, 2012 at 9:52 pm
Im using Airtel 4G LTE at my office from 15 days, they have offered ZTE router. Maximum speed i got is 20mbps & avg speed is 8mbps. when using IDM the download speed remains consistent at 2.5MB/sec(2500KB/Sec).
Adil December 17, 2012 at 3:55 am
Yae toh 4g kae naam pae kalank hai only 2.5mbps we poor Indian
Amit Kumar December 17, 2012 at 12:03 pm
Hey said 2.5 MBps(Megabyte) which refers to 20 Mbps(Megabit).
Adil December 17, 2012 at 1:38 pm
Ok brother then its ok but shows should then also be 50 Pluse
aashu December 16, 2012 at 9:47 pm
Please tt help me I’m confused.can I use 4g on WiFi enabled fone via WiFi using my Nokia lumia 610
Rudradeep December 17, 2012 at 2:53 am
Yea… on your Lumia 610 you can access internet over WiFi, the speed will be at 4G speed.
aashu December 17, 2012 at 10:05 pm
Thnks rudra sir So excited about ril 4g
avisek December 16, 2012 at 9:30 pm
DON’T FORGET BSNL.ONE OF THE COMPANY WHO OFFER 3G SPEED RECHARGING 2G DATA VOUCHER.
aashu December 16, 2012 at 9:26 pm
Got some relief after reading this article thnks tt team I have been got tired using 2g on slow speed and 3g on too much costly rates.i hope it will happen
Chinmoy December 16, 2012 at 9:01 pm
Well RDB , I must admid this is indeed a nice article , but two things I felt is not discussed or correct .
First you have not covered Reliance Wired Broadband plan(Thunder Plans) which are best wired broadband plan in India rather you discussed on BSNL .
Secondly , EDVO is very much available on CDMA cellphone . Be is Tata Indicom (Docomo) , Reliance or even BSNL CDMA gives you EDVO enabled RUIM which you can use for browsing too . I use an unlocked CDMA EVDO dongle and put Tata Docomo OMH RUIM and it works . I use the same RUIM for voice and EDVO internet from Android enabled CDMA set too . The same is true for BSNL CDMA as well . MTS may be exception but MTS is not the only CDMA player in India.
Rudradeep December 17, 2012 at 2:51 am
1st. Rcom thunder plans are good, but it is available in very few places !
2nd. evdo is available on mobile, but no operator is promoting it.
@chinmoy I like to know one thing: does bsnl sell voice n evdo enabled omh ruim ?
MTS data plans for mobile users are not cheap as Tata CDMA’s, rather almost in the same league of 3g plans from GSM players. Reliance offers best 1GB/month + unlimited SMS/month for Rs 94 for 6 months.
KAPIL K. DEV December 16, 2012 at 8:43 pm
Very good informative topic.
Jay December 16, 2012 at 8:36 pm
(plz don’t delete this comment)
i really want to know the use of ‘Mobile Operator code’ which is given under ‘Operator info’ in your site telecomtalk.info
how can i use these codes??
akhilesh up E December 16, 2012 at 7:12 pm
airtel is a big company..if airtel is failed to provde Better n cheap 4G
then how people expect Better &cheap 4G From Infotel & Videocon & tikona
all thease players not sucess in 2g/3g How 4G?
i unble to understant what is going on..
Rudradeep December 17, 2012 at 2:41 am
did Airtel offer 1p/sec or 30p/min tariff? The new players came in 2008-09 and offer dirt cheap tariff.
Prithvi December 16, 2012 at 7:10 pm
LTE-FD (Tikona, Videocon technology) is better in terms of cost & eco-system for the providers and therefore I see these two triggering off the disruptive price war AND secondly, you said “POST FUP SPEEDS” is the key. If they happen to be around the pathetic 128kbps it diminishes the very purpose of providing LTE. LTE Post-FUP speeds should at least be 256kbps if not more and that too along the lines of HSIA (not CDMA).
Keshav Jha December 16, 2012 at 4:58 pm
Superb post. Very informative. Thanks to TT.
PD December 16, 2012 at 4:05 pm
By the way where is 3G to disrupt ?
Amit mittal December 16, 2012 at 12:55 pm
One problem is that telecom operaters launch new technology at higher prices and drop prices further. 3G has not been launched in most areas even after 2-3 years of launch. 4 should be launched something like 200-300 per month for 4-5 GB(same as 2G), they can limit speed at 2-4 Mbps. Small Towns consume data same/more as cities(per person) so they should cover most areas while launch.
Adil December 16, 2012 at 4:33 pm
Amit what is the use of 4g when you want the limit of 2-4mb in 4g…4g is high speed really high speed data transfer but you want making in this too speed limit
Amit Kumar December 17, 2012 at 12:07 pm
I only want a different plan with slow speed. Airtel plans are starting from Rs.1000pm so everyone cant afford it. 2-4 Mbps is not bad speed, i’m only saying if they can cut costs by speed caping.
Pratik December 16, 2012 at 12:44 pm
this mifi model is interesting and I sincerely hope they bring it at mass market price just like DAPO did.
I want this BWA as DAPO for data.
all the best Reliance and qualcomm
Anil Kumar Vaishnav December 16, 2012 at 3:01 pm
qullcomm is already brought by airtel.
Max December 16, 2012 at 12:30 pm
Is RAAT ki subah nahi
PD December 16, 2012 at 4:54 pm
Raat gayi baat gayi, that’s all…! But 2G will limp on… !
Adil December 16, 2012 at 12:20 pm
Interesting
Jaweed Abdul December 16, 2012 at 12:12 pm
Woh Subhha Kabhi To Aaeegi