India – South Asia’s hope for Wi-Max
The leapfrog technology that would emerge in South Asia which will act as an enabler in revolutionazing the way internet works is Wi-Max. Wiki defines WiMAX, meaning Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, is a telecommunications technology that provides wireless transmission of data using a variety of transmission modes, from point-to-multipoint links to portable and fully mobile internet access. According to Yankee Group, “The only hope for WiMax operations in South Asia will be India”; and they also believe that other developed nations “cannot be rated as successful” when it comes to implementation of Wi-Max.
For sure, the hopes lie in India when it comes to being the first to initialize the practical implementation of Wi-Max in major cities which have the required IT Infrastructure and are considered as major business hubs. These cities have to be Kolkata (in West Bengal), Bangalore (in Karnataka), Chennai (in Tamil Nadu), Ahmedabad (in Gujarat), Hyderabad (in Andhra Pradesh), and Pune (in Maharastra). Maravedis and Tonse Telecom came out with this report which says, India will have 13 million WiMAX subscribers by 2012. The demand for wireless broadband gear is going to add up to about $4.5 billion by 2012.
What might India achieve out of Wi-Max ?
This Wi-Max technology is set to deliver an astonishing speed of 70 Mbps over 50 kilometres. It can also be made to operate at higher bitrates or over longer distances; but not both. Fixed Wi-MAX networks typically have a higher-gain directional antenna installed near the client (customer) which results in greatly-increased range and throughput.
The advantages that India would achieve if Wi-Max is installed and made running at its full efficiency are -
(1) It would be able to connect WiFi hotspots to the net. (2) It would be able to provide a very good alternative to cable and DSL for broadband access. (3) It would act as an enabler in providing enriched data and telecommunication services. (4) Enhanced portable connectivity. (5) Wiki adds that it also helps in providing a source of Internet connectivity as part of a business continuity plan. That’s, if a business has a fixed and a wireless Internet connection, especially from unrelated providers, they are unlikely to be affected by the same service outage.
Why is Wi-Max not fully operational ?
Bharti Airtel, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (along with Soma Networks) and Reliance Communications (RCom) are some of the telecom operators which have started offering Wi-Max services. But, there is a long way to go as the telecom industry is still awaiting allocation of Broadband Wireless (BWA) spectrum to offer full-fledged services. Once this happens, Wi-Max services will also start being offered on the 2.3 and 2.5 GHz spectrum (considered superior), in contrast to the current 3.3 GHz spectrum. There have also been initiatives taken by the telecom ministry when they announced that simultaneous allocation for both 3G and BWA spectrum will take place, but this is yet to happen.
The larger question which looms over most of us is – Can India benefit from the economies of scale that would come with Wi-MAX ?
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Though the speeds provided by wimax is good there are two problems. One is the fact that wimax co’s like reliance dont allow sharing and hence you end up paying 1500 for one pc and the other is the fact that wimax works based on the reception of the wimax dish