WiMax in India

And there is a considerable degree of excitement about that.

Why?

It was in April 2001 that the WiMax group was constituted.

Today, the world over, WiMax is undergoing 200 trials and has been deployed in

40 places commercially. In India, Aircel, Sify, and Microsense have already

launched or have conducted experiments with WiMax services.

Compare this to 3G. It was in 2001 that the first commercial

WCDMA 3G became operational in Japan. There are 190 3G systems in operation

globally. In India, though, we are yet to feel the impact of 3G.

WiMax-Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access-technically

falls under the 4G category. So as WiMax confidently marches ahead, it's only

but natural that doubts are being raised about the viability of 3G. After all,

3G promises a maximum bit rate of 2 Mbps, while WiMax offers 100 Mbps. The 3G

range is 1-5 miles, while WiMax easily spans that much in a line-of-sight

condition, and using reflectors in a non line of sight scenario, can sweep

across 30 miles. What is getting lost in the clamor of all this is that the IEEE

802.16 standard that is being propagated by the WiMax Forum, is not primarily

meant to be pitted against 3G for mobile data services. The original standard,

802.16d, was designed for last-mile broadband connectivity. And a later version,

802.16e, was devised for mobile wireless access.

Confused? So would be the consumer if he bothered about all the

jargon he is wooed with. Thankfully, many users just concentrate on the basics.

What can the new product or service do for me?

The most exciting thing about WiMax, or any of the 'equivalent'

technologies, is the speed and range enhancements that are possible for wireless

connectivity. 100 Mbps is a great speed to drool for considering that at present

we work with 512 Kbps-or lower-on the wireless circuits. And the enhanced

range of up to 30 miles and not limited by line of sight means easier access,

especially in remote locations.

If India aims to have 80 mn phones, or one phone for every two

households by 2010, WiMax is a good bet. And the target of 20 mn broadband

subscribers by 2010, can easily be met with WiMax. In 2005, WiMax was still

being looked at with suspicion with respect to prohibitive infrastructure costs.

Not anymore. Last year, Texas Instruments and Tata Elxsi announced their launch

of cost-effective base band demo system for mobile WiMax to be adapted into base

station solutions. Aperto has completed the deployment of WiMax-class broadband

system in sixty-five cities for VSNL. And now BSNL is expected to announce is

tender for WiMax equipment for 1,000 cities any time now, for deployment which

is reported to start in September. Pune is offering basic WiMax at Rs 250 for a

256 kbps connection. Cost, in 2007, definitely is not a roadblock for WiMax.

It is exciting that there is so much more bandwidth on the way-without

making a dent in the pocket. And as a customer it does not matter to me whether

it comes from WiMax or anything else by any other name. Major limitations to

technology usage have always been power sources and wires. They chain you down

and put limitations on usage. Sometimes I wonder why batteries have not improved

at the rate that chips have. To me anything that aids mobility is good news. It's

time to finally shake hands with technologies that seem to be on the right pace-with

respect to technology, industry initiatives and government support. Now if we

could get the spectrum issue sorted out...

The author is editor-in-chief of CyberMedia, the publisher of Dataquest.

He can be reached at shyamm@cybermedia.co.in