india

India expected to auction 3G licenses soon

Lynnette Luna — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 22:54:14 -0400

Wireless infrastructure vendors everywhere should be rejoicing. After years of delays, India appears close to awarding 3G licenses and new spectrum. Late last week, the country's Department of Telecommunications (DoT) issued guidelines for the auction and anticipates seeing 3G services commercially available in 2009. The auction is expected to begin in two months and finish by the end of they year. Article

India's Tata close to granting $500M WiMAX contract

Lynnette Luna — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:59:43 -0400

Tata Communications is close to choosing its mobile WiMAX equipment suppliers for its $500-million 802.16e-based network in India, according to Unstrung. Tata has already deployed fixed WiMAX (802.16d) from Telsima and has signed up some 10,000 customers since launching service in March. It claims that deployment is the largest WiMAX deployment in the world. Now the operator is looking to deploy mobile WiMAX in the 3.3 GHz band, spending $500 million during the next two years. Tata did not name the vendors vying for the contract nor the size of the award, but said it would be significant.

Unstrung's sources, however, say seven vendors are competing for Tata's contract and willing to customize their products for Indian market. Alcatel-Lucent, Alvarion, Cisco (through its Navini acquisition), Huawei Technologies, Motorola, Samsung and Telsima.

For more:
- read Unstrung

Related stories:
Tata claims world's largest WiMAX deployment. Tata story
Telsima, Sequans capitalizing on Indian WiMAX market. Telsima editorial

3G auctions in China, India could have dramatic industry impact

Thu, 29 May 2008 06:59:58 -0400

Vendors everywhere should be feeling a bit giddy this week as regulators in both China and India--two countries considered to have the most wireless growth potential going forward--indicated they would move forward with licensing 3G networks. India is also looking to license WiMAX networks.

This is welcome news to wireless vendors, which are suffering from a bit of a slowdown as the network-upgrade business has been hard to come by. 3G is beginning to mature in many markets with occasional contracts for capacity upgrades. What has been missing is the massive rollout of new technology.

Vendors aren't the only ones poised to capitalize on the moves in China and India. The world's operators are looking for the next growth engine markets. In India, many customers are using CDMA 1x technology as their primary Internet connection via handsets used as modems. Imagine the impact that a faster 3G technology could have on the market.

Of course, these announcements come from two governments notorious for delays when it comes to licensing. China has strung vendors along regarding 3G licenses for about six years now. The entire industry has to be crossing its fingers.--Lynnette

India could see 3G, more WiMAX by 2009

Thu, 29 May 2008 06:59:55 -0400

India, which is expected to become a hotbed for wireless broadband services, could see 3G and more WiMAX deployments by 2009. The Indian government is expected to issue guidelines on the auction of both 3G and WiMAX network licenses next month.

According to telecom minister Andimuthu Raja, the license conditions would allow foreign participation. According to Indian law, up to 74 percent of an Indian company can be held by a foreign company. With the recent M&A activity and rumors surrounding the country's existing mobile operators, these licenses should attract a plethora of foreign operators.

The Indian government expects to see WiMAX and 3G networks begin rolling out in January 2009. The initial WiMAX plans laid out by the Indian government include the auction of three 2.5 GHz WiMAX licenses with a 10-megahertz allocation each for the winners. State-owned BSNL has already been handed 20 megahertz of spectrum in the 2.5GHz band for mobile WiMAX rollout.

For more about India's 3G and WiMAX plans:
- check out this telecoms.com article

Related stories:
- Gartner: India to remain a niche market for WiMAX. Read this WiMAX India story
- MTN and Reliance could form mobile-phone powerhouse. See this MTN-Reliance story

World Economic Forum praises WiMAX

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 06:59:54 -0400

A new report issued by the World Economic Forum singles out WiMAX as continuing to "leapfrog past copper wire" in developing countries. The report takes particular notice of rollouts in Pakistan and India, praising WiMAX as a possible solution to the lack of rural connectivity.

"In the context of having to apportion chunks of finite spectrum, WiMAX is appealing because it holds the promise of increased sharing," says the report. "Rural connectivity is promised as long as power supply is available, PCs are given, local languages are used in developing content and people are provided with training in using PCs."

For more about the World Economic Forum's report:
- check out this article from eWeek

Related articles:
- Gartner: India to remain niche market for WiMAX Report on WiMAX in India
- Motorola in world's largest 802.16e deployment Report on WiMAX in Pakistan

Gartner: India to remain niche market for WiMAX

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 07:59:53 -0400

Research firm Gartner predicted that India will remain a niche market for WiMAX until 2009, despite the fact that the Indian government is advocating the technology for broadband connectivity in rural areas. Gartner predicts that the country will have just 6.9 million mobile and fixed WiMAX connections by the end of 2011. The reason: "Although presented as an important driver for broadband policy in India, the Indian government has failed to effectively motivate operators to roll out country-wide mobile broadband. WiMAX has been selected by the Indian government to connect rural areas to the Internet. However, low PC penetration will lead to limited demand in the near term. WiMax is still a niche technology and limited to enterprise and high-end residential users in urban India," according to the firm.

India had only 3.4 million broadband subscribers in January 2008, less than the target of 9 million by 2007 set by the country's broadband policy, said Naresh Singh, principal research analyst with Gartner. Mobile frequencies will not be available in the short term, so most WiMax connections in the short- and mid-term will be for nomadic or fixed-wireless applications.

For more about Gartner's views regarding WiMAX in India:
- check out this article from EE Times

Related articles:
Telsima, Sequans capitalizing on Indian WiMAX market Report
Tata claims world's largest WiMAX deployment Report

Google could buy into airborne transceiver idea

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 06:59:55 -0500

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Google is considering contracting with or buying up a wireless services firm that uses gas-filled balloons 20 miles up in the stratosphere to blanket the thousands of square miles below with wireless signals. The company is called Space Data and currently provides telecom services to truckers and oil companies but aims to provide services to rural Americans. Space Data makes use of 10 balloons a day, which it launches across the Southern U.S.

For more on Space Data and Google:
- see the full article from the WSJ (sub. req.)

Related articles:
Ericsson pioneers WCDMA/HSPA ecosystem pilot in rural India Release
Study: 'Targeted' Support Needed to Ensure Rural Consumers' Access Release

ALSO NOTED: LTE approved by 3GPP; Soma will build a mobile WiMAX network in India; and much more...

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 06:59:51 -0500

> 3GPP approved LTE. Article

> American Airlines is testing AirCell's in-flight wireless broadband service. Article (WSJ sub. req.)

> Ericsson signed a frame agreement with Swisscom to expand and upgrade its WCDMA/HSPA network to enable high-speed mobile broadband coverage across 90 percent of Switzerland. Release

> Boingo has chosen JiWire to sell and serve advertising to its WiFi airport hotspots. Release

> Soma Networks has partnered with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd., India's state-owned and largest telecommunications company, to deploy an expansive mobile WiMAX network. Article

ALSO NOTED: WiMAX Forum to set up lab in India; Telsima introduces combo 450 MHz/700 MHz BWA system; and much more...

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 06:59:51 -0500

> The WiMAX Forum announced plans to create the first ever WiMAX Forum Designated Certification Laboratory in India by 2008. Report

> Telsima launched a combination 450 MHz/700 MHz broadband wireless access system. Report

And Finally... Bell Mobility charged a Canadian man $84,000 after he used his phone as a modem to access the Internet. Report

ALSO NOTED: India's BSNL plans $750M investment in WiMAX; Orange partners with The Cloud to extend WiFi access; and much more..

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 06:59:51 -0500

> According to reports coming out of Brazil, long distance and data services provider Embratel expects to invest $600 million through March 2008 on WiMax technology. Article

> Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) plans to spend $750 million on WiMax networks to cover one sixth of India's 1 billion-plus population, and has already issued the first tender for WiMAX equipment. Article

> UK mobile operator Orange partnered with WiFi hotspot operator The Cloud to extend Orange users' WiFi access to more than 10,000 hotspots. Article

> UK telecom regulator Ofcom agreed to let UK Broadband, the company that owns the 3.5GHz spectrum license, supply WiMAX service to mobile devices as well as for access for homes and offices. Article

And Finally... A study from Nokia says women are better multi-taskers than men. Article

700 MHz band opens up for broadband outside U.S.

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 06:59:56 -0500

It looks like the U.S. will no longer be alone when it comes to opening up the 700 MHz band for mobile broadband services. Under a United Nations agreement blessed by governments from more than 160 countries, spectrum in the 698 MHz to 806 MHz band will be opened up to mobile broadband services. The move is a boon for economies of scale. Just like the politics played out in the U.S., the new U.N. agreement followed a month-long conference that pitted broadcasters and mobile-phone operators against each other.

According to the deal, the Americas and much of Asia, including China and India, will open up the 698 MHz to 806 MHz band to mobile wireless broadband services between now and 2015 as the transition from analog to digital television proceeds. In Europe, Africa and the Middle East, where broadcasters have kept a bigger share of UHF spectrum, only the 790 MHz to 862 MHz band will be available for mobile wireless broadband and only after 2015.

To find out more:
- check out this report from the Financial Times

Related articles:
Google may partner in 700 MHz spectrum auction Report
FCC takes new look at white space Report

Study: WiMAX subs in India to reach 21M in 2014

Thu, 25 Oct 2007 06:59:53 -0400

The WiMAX market in India is expected to total 21 million subscribers by 2014, says a new study from Maravedis and Tonse Telecom.

According to the report, steady CPE price reduction significantly impacted the potential ARPU, favorably changing the market perspective. The analysts estimate that as many as 12,000 base stations and 500,000 CPEs will be sold into India in the next 12 months.

"Companies like Telsima reduced the CPE price by 50 percent as early as Q2-2007. Consequently, carriers like Reliance, started commercial services in Bangalore and has RFPs on the way, but there are more large-scale deployments to come," said Adlane Fellah, CEO of Maravedis.

For more about Maravedis' study:
- read this article from Tekrati

Strong WiFi growth in India

Mon, 05 Feb 2007 19:01:34 -0500

Interesting things are happening in India on the WiFi front, as a just-published 60-page report, titled "The Future for Wi-Fi in India: Opportunities and Challenges," shows. The report was prepared by Tonse Telecom and the Wi-Fi Alliance, and it offers an in-depth look at the emerging WiFi market in India. It is especially useful in discussing innovative companies and institutions which are involved in promoting the technology. Frank Hanzlik, the Wi-Fi Alliance managing director, said that India is emerging as a very important and exciting market for their members, both in-country and worldwide.

The study's major findings:

The WLAN network gear sector will exceed $275 million by 2011-12 (not including embedded chips), up from the current $23.1 million with the growth in the broadband wireless access.
By 2012, the combined WiFi market (consisting of WLAN networking
gear, systems integration, professional services--but not including embedded devices and laptops) is expected to exceed $744 million (CAGR of 61.4 percent).
Previously unconnected rural and urban areas can now have broadband connectivity based on hybrid WiFi and WiMAX deployments.
Dual-mode WiFi-cellular handsets are expected to bring higher throughput Internet connectivity to numerous Indian citizens who do not own computers.

Sridhar T. Pai, CEO of Tonse Telecom, says there is tremendous enthusiasm in India for WiFi technology. Hanzlik believes the Wi-Fi Alliance programs, including interoperability and security testing, will be key enablers of WiFi adoption in India, much as they have been in other markets worldwide.

For more on WiFi growth on the subcontinent:
- download the paper at the Wi-Fi Alliance website

Many in India pin hopes on WiMAX

Mon, 28 Aug 2006 20:01:36 -0400

India is a late comer to wireless technology but it's now embracing it with a vengeance. Indian analysts and industry insiders say that WiMAX deployments will both exploit as well as accelerate this growing trend on the subcontinent. They argue that WiMAX promises to offer India widespread Internet access that will form the basis for economic growth and better educational and health care services--the latter two of which are often unavailable in remote, rural areas. The introduction of WiMAX will benefit the urban middle class as well, as it will make improved entertainment services more readily available.

WiMAX companies have taken note. Intel is working within the Indian wireless industry to drive the deployment of both WiFi and WiMAX networks. Aperto boasts at least six WiMAX clients in India, including VSNL, which recently completed the deployment of their WiMAX-class PacketWAVE multi-service broadband wireless system in more than 65 cities in India. This was only the first deployment phase, with the company setting a goal to grow the network to cover more than 200 cities within 12 months.

For more on WiMAX in India:
- see this detailed Express Computer report

Wipro acquires Austrian chip developer

Tue, 20 Dec 2005 19:01:37 -0500

India's IT outsourcing sector is strong, and getting stronger. In evidence: One of India's largest outsourcing firms, Wipro, has acquired Austrian chip developer New Logic Technologies. The acquisition will allow Wipro's service arm to offer WLAN and Bluetooth capabilities, thus beefing up its IT offerings on the subcontinent. The all-cash $56 million acquisition will add some 120 specialist engineers to Wipro's work force, strengthening the company's wireless R&D activities. It will also give WLAN providers a new, low-cost supplier of both semiconductors and software (one-third of Wipro's 2005 revenue comes from its R&D services business).

IT outsourcing on the subcontinent is good business. Wipro, Infosys, and TCS have said they show double-digit increases in sales in the last few weeks. At the same time, their U.S. counterparts such as IBM and EDS are happy to see even single-digit increases in sales.

For more on Wipro's acquisition
-see Dan Jones's Unstrung report
-and Red Herring's story