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With the spectrum allocation issue yet to be ironed out, the commercial rollout of WiMax in India continues to be in the delay mode. A heavy frequency crunch in some of the key bands such as 2.3-2.4 GHz and 2.5 GHz, as reported by the Department of Telecom (DoT) in its status report on the availability of WiMax spectrum, implies that operators may be in for more wait before they can launch WiMax services in many parts of the country.

However, the possible opportunity doled out by WiMax to cover long ranges and reach the Indian population, including the vast rural belt, with high bandwidth at affordable prices may prompt the government to sit up and work out the spectrum issues sooner. Furthermore, considering that the delay can put India under the risk of being isolated from global wireless broadband developments, the DoT cannot afford to be off its toes. As the market and industry pressure builds up on the government, there is likely to be a solution in place by early 2008, prompting commercial rollouts by the year-end.

Earlier, in 2007, with DoT chalking out the WiMax roadmap by proposing rollout in 2.5 GHz spectrum (though conforming to the frequency recommendations of the WiMax Forum) with 20 MHz of spectrum available to three operators, it has made evident its seriousness about WiMax and the technology may not, after all, end up in a bureaucratic imbroglio.

Once the spectrum issues are cleared and the fundamental battle is won, it is the availability of cost effective WiMax solutions and building of killer applications that will ultimately determine the technologys successful uptake in India. As a result, the stakeholders will have to work simultaneously to build a conducive ecosystem for the technology to get onto the mass adoption expressway, once the spectrum hurdles are out of the way. PK Saji, vice president, Technology, Sify, points out that timing, pricing, and scale will be critical to the success of WiMax, and service providers must prove that WiMax can deliver much more than basic broadband. India needs to embark on a mission mode program to establish the industries which covers the total life cycle of hardware, and networking products to manufacture and market this technology, he adds.

Spectrum Woes
In India, today, spectrum availability is one of the key bottlenecks in the adoption of the WiMax technology. According to Anupam Wahi, head, Business Development (New Products), Alcatel Lucent, The fact remains that regulatory issues and spectrum constraints have been an impediment in the rollout of WiMax-based broadband wireless access services.

But, why is spectrum turning out to be a big issue? As per the WiMax Forum standards, WiMax is being deployed worldwide in one of these three spectrum bands, 2.3/2.5 GHz and 3.5 GHz. The industry demands the allocation of the 2.5 GHz spectrum for WiMax to speed up rural broadband. The WiMax Forum had last year warned that India risked being isolated from global wireless broadband developments unless the country allocates spectrum in the 2.5-2.69 GHz for wireless broadband. The root cause of the issue is the heavy frequency crunch in some of the key bands, thereby making the allocation task complicated and difficult for the government. The 2.5-2.69 GHz range is primarily being used by the countrys INSAT satellite service, controlled by the Department of Space (DoS).

Complicating matters further, DoS plans a new INSAT system to further use this frequency for future multimedia and broadcast applications for fixed and mobile users. Discussions are already underway with the DoS for further availability of spectrum in this band. While the government is still struggling with the daunting task of finding a solution on how to balance the interests of both the DoT and the DoS, the WiMax Forum warns, saying that the Indian government would be better off allocating a different spectrum band for its satellite services, rather than risking isolation in the global stage.

The fact remains that regulatory issues and spectrum constraints have been an impediment in the rollout of WiMax-based broadband wireless access services Anupam Wahi, head, Business Development (New Products), Alcatel Lucent

According to a DoT report, in the 2.3-2.4 GHz range, allocation of spectrum for WiMax applications would be possible only after existing links spread across the country are relocated. This itself is not an easy task and may take some time as a variety of users are involved. The report stated that in towns like Kanpur, Nagpur, and Bhopal, the spectrum was almost 100% available. In Chennai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Surat, Lucknow, Patna, Baroda, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Mumbai, the availability was about 50%, while in Delhi the spectrum was almost 100% occupied.

While the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had suggested the rollout of WiMax in 3.3-3.4 GHz and 3.4-3.6 GHz frequencies with up to thirteen players be allocated spectrum, those recommendations are also wrought with issues. The 3.4-3.6 GHz frequency is also currently used by satellite-based services and broadcasters, and there are ongoing trials to see whether WiMax and satellite-based services can co-exist in those frequencies. Once the trials are complete, only then will the situation on spectrum availability in this frequency be clear. As for the 3.3-3.4 GHz frequency, according to the DoT report, in most towns this frequency was available between 50-70 MHz, while in major towns about 30 MHz was available, and in metros and major cities only 14 MHz of this resource is free. Also, with regard to the 3.3-3.4 GHz frequency, the DoT committee studying the TRAI recommendations has implied that equipment will not be available for the spectrum preferred by India.

DoTs Proposal
The proposal set forth by DoT, mapping out WiMaxs rollout, has recommended operating WiMax in the 2.5 GHz frequency with initially only three players being allowed to operate. Considering that the spectrum at this level is already is use by the INSAT satellite service, only about 70 units of spectrum will be available in the band. Allocation of 20 units of spectrum per player leaves only about three operators to be accommodated in the 2.5 GHz band. And with one of the players having to be the state-owned BSNL/MTNL, it ultimately leaves private players with just two slots to vie for. This then becomes a limiting factor for the entry of private players into the WiMax arena in India.

Timing, pricing, and scale will be critical to the success of WiMax, and service providers must prove that WiMax can deliver much more than basic broadband PK Saji, VP, Technology, Sify

The DoT committee studying TRAIs recommendations on spectrum allocation has, however, added that spectrum in the frequencies recommended by TRAI would be made available at a later stage, after the compatibility trials have been completed. Also, on the upside, frequencies such as 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz were already de-licensed and any operator could avail these bands for free to provide WiMax services in rural India.

As far as the pricing for wireless broadband rollout is concerned, DoT, in its report, has proposed that the base price for auction of WiMax spectrum be set at 25% of the amount for 3G spectrum. This implies that for metros like Delhi and Mumbai, and the category A telecom circles, the base price for bidding will be Rs 40 crore. It has proposed that for the 3G spectrum, base price be Rs 160 crore for category A circles, Rs 80 crore for category B circles and Rs 30 crore for category C circles. The proposals, with respect to spectrum allocations and pricing, are now waiting for clearance from the telecom minister. With respect to pricing, the general opinion doing the rounds is that spectrum charges be based on revenue sharing and not on the basis of the number of subscribers in order to provide low cost services to the rural segment. Balaji Kulothungan, CEO, Pointred Telecom, agrees that the spectrum charges should be based on revenue sharing as this will help existing and new operators to accelerate teledensity, and will contribute to the exchequer as they grow. This will be a win-win situation for the operator and the exchequer, he says. Paramjit Singh Puri, business development manager, Advanced Technologies, Cisco Systems, India & SAARC, believes that though it is a good thought, it is still too early to talk about this. All this would depend on the governments pricing policy and the business models envisaged by the service providers for both the rural as well as the urban markets, he explains.

WhyMax?
The broadband subscriber base stands at approximately 2.6 mn as on date. With DoTs target of 20 mn subscribers by 2010, operators have realized that there is need to expedite the rollout of broadband further. According to Anupam Wahi, head, Business Development (New Products), Alcatel Lucent, as on date, around 85% deployments on the DSL technology is primarily led by incumbent operators BSNL and MTNL (due to copper lines ownership). He further adds that the expected target of nine million broadband subscribers by the end of 2007 has not been achieved, the prime reason being the time taken to deploy DSL fixed access on existing copper lines. In such a scenario, operators do not have much choice but to move broadband deployments from the wireline to wireless access and the best choice of technology available is WiMax Rev.e, which can drive the growth of broadband in the country, exponentially, and help DoT meet the designated broadband targets for the country, adds Wahi. Thereby, giving the government an opportunity to effectively bridge the digital divide or enable Digital Inclusion.

Whats more, the government plans to set up 100,000 CSCs across the country where broadband access will be available for health, education, e-Governance and various other NeGP programs. Presently, WiMax happens to be among the most suitable technology for broadband deployment in the rural scenario, simply due to the coverage advantages it can offer and in all probabilities, WiMax is expected to be the default choice of broadband connectivity for upcoming CSCs under the e-Gov initiatives of the government. In fact, if some reports are to be believed, this has already become a reality. The Indian government has reportedly opted for WiMax to connect rural India for the CSCs as part of the NeGP, investing Rs 750 cr to connect around 1,000 blocks in the country.

Fulfilling the Promise
WiMax can be used effectively to bring low cost broadband to the rural areas of India. It can be a cost effective means for providing basic telecom services as well as high-speed Internet connections for the un-served people in the country today.

All would depend on the governments pricing policy and the business models envisaged by the service providers for both the rural as well as the urban markets Paramjit Singh Puri, business development manager, Advanced Technologies, Cisco Systems India & SAARC	Spectrum charges should be based on revenue sharing as this will help existing and new operators to accelerate teledensity, and will contribute to the exchequer as they grow Balaji Kulothungan, CEO, Pointred Telecom

According to Puri, service providers can improve cost effectiveness, as the WiMax technology will help them to reduce their Opex and Capex, provide them with faster time to market and complement, and extend their existing cellular and broadband offering. These benefits will subsequently help in lowering the cost of broadband services. Kulothungan provides yet another perspective as he explains that WiMax enables quad play (voice, video, data and mobility), and quad play networks on deployment will enable an entire basket of product offerings for an operator which will bring the TCO of the network significantly low, and in turn accelerate rural penetration. For instance, operators with quad play network will have the luxury of providing voice, data, IPTV, VoD, and VoIP services to the same target customers. Thus, the revenue model is wide and this factor will bring down the price, and accelerate growth.

Low cost of deployment will be the key to delivering low cost broadband and, therefore, the key to WiMaxs success in India. According to Kulothungan, CEO, Pointred Telecom, products designed and manufactured in India will be the decisive force to enable low cost deployment of WiMax. To enable low cost deployment, Alcatel Lucent has undertaken a joint initiative along with the government of India Enterprise, CDOT, and the joint venture formed focuses on WiMax Rev.e development to suit the rural Indian market conditions. The initial agenda of the CDOT Alcatel Research Center in Chennai is to work on the WiMax 802.16e-2005 technology, particularly focusing on the development of low cost CPE design optimized for Indian markets. To overcome the cost issues relating to the Opex and Capex, operators will need to come up with innovative business modelspackaging the broadband service by bundling connectivity, content and low cost end user device, tailor made to suit the requirements of the subscriber.

All said and done, one cannot ignore the fact that there is a need to focus on low cost PCs, PDAs, laptops, gaming consoles, and mobile handheld devices. According to Wahi, it is also critical to create content packages, which are specifically designed to serve in vernacular languages. All of the above will help trigger mass demand and hence large-scale adoption of WiMax. According to Saji, India needs to embark on a mission mode program to establish the industries which cover the total life cycle of hardware and networking products to manufacture and market this technology.

On the flip side, the cost of the WiMax equipment like the base towers and the CPEs is still expensive compared to the more prevalent Wi-Fi hardware. Also, the access technology for the end users, which is the laptops, PDAs, handhelds, and mobile phones all have a Wi-Fi chip in it, while the WiMax chip is still in the infancy stage of development. TRAI is still grappling with the spectrum allocation problem adding to the cost factor.

Also, as Puri points out, WiMax has to mature as a technology. Currently, the deployments are restricted to last mile access or as a backhaul to extend the reach, which means the WiMax technology is fixed, and the mobile WiMax technology is atleast 2-3 years away. Till the time 802.16E-2005 becomes a reality, this issue will remain.

The roadmap exists and vendors are working toward it. However, issues like licensing and maturing of the technology are some of the challenges that will need to be overcome to enable the technologys mass adoption. The ball, for the present, is in the governments court, as the various stakeholders await the final verdict. But, experts warn, it shouldnt be too late else well miss out on the global wireless broadband play.

Shipra Malhotra
shipram@cybermedia.co.in

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