Worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) or long term evolution (LTE) — the choice of technology for local telecom operators has the experts divided.
Broadband wireless access spectrum of 2.3 GHz — won recently by seven operators including the two public sector telcos Bharat Sachar Nigam (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam — allows deployment of both WiMAX and LTE for speeds as high as 8-50 Mbps. While Intel, the world’s largest chipmaker, is considered a big proponent of WiMAX technology, mobile chipmaker Qualcomm is said to be siding with long term evolution time division duplex, or TD-LTE.
For the telcos, the choice between the two technologies is important as they have got only 5 MHz of 3G spectrum, which is inadequate given the burgeoning mobile Internet usage. The problem is multiplied by the fact that most of them will use the 3G spectrum to route voice calls to ease their existing networks, implying even 3G networks would get choked soon.
In what may have tilted the balance somewhat, state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) is rolling out mobile WiMAX in the urban areas of Kerala and Punjab. Infotel, now owned by Reliance Industries, has also reported trials of WiMAX recently.
But the proponents of LTE would still have us believe it is the better technology of the two, though not quite as mature.
DNA spoke to two experts for a lowdown on both sides of the issue. Here’s what they had to say:
POINT
‘WiMAX it is, for now’
Sridhar Pai
Founder, Bangalore-based research firm Tonse Telecom
Adrian Scrase, head of 3GPP Mobile Competence Centre, said in June that LTE is ready for deployment in India. But you say the deployment will take up to two and a half years. Why?
Because it isn’t there —- where do you see it? How many commercial LTE deployments are there with even say 20,000 subscribers live on the network? Everyone is saying it will come soon, but nobody is shipping products. I am not saying TD-LTE will never ship. But it will take time… at least 2.5 years. Why should Indian subscribers have to be made to wait further and why should Indian operators having paid Rs 35,000 crore sit and wait for the great day when finally something will magically drop from the sky… when a current solution is available to deploy and meet the demands of this bandwidth-starved nation?
Is there a compatibility issue in laying WiMAX on 3G?
There is a possibility of using WiMAX P2P backhaul links for a 3G network supplementation. This can also be done between far-flung 3GPP BTS (base transceiver station) linking in case there is shortage of fibre.
What about the cost of laying WiMAX and then ultimately moving to LTE? What could make for better economics, for the telcos?
This will depend on the level of progress made by WiMAX infrastructure vendors. For example, Samsung, Motorola and Huawei have announced that they can migrate from WiMAX infrastructure to LTE, but not all others. Economics of investing in LTE-upgradable WiMAX infrastructure today is far superior to doing nothing today and waiting for LTE infrastructure, hoping it will come in magically by December this year. If some vendor was to magically offer TD-LTE infrastructure today and say — “Look I am giving it to you today at prices comparable to WiMAX,” then sure everyone must take it. But where is the LTE infrastructure? When will it be ready to deploy, in the scale needed in India, and at Indian prices?
In terms of BTS cost, which would be higher — WiMAX or LTE?
It is difficult to say by how much WiMAX will be cheaper. But common sense and history of silicon industry tells us that the pricing difference will be significant in the short term . A complete WiMAX eco-system is ready with USB dongles in the $30-40 range and CPEs with voice support for $50-60, and an equally broad array of core network infrastructure. But the LTE ecosystem has not yet matured. Only trials have been done. There are no devices yet and in all likelihood, an LTE device is going to be an expensive one. We expect LTE to mature for commercial deployments in about 2.5 years. Till such time, operators can deploy mobile WiMAX to offer faster speeds to customers and later move to LTE.
COUNTERPOINT
‘The world’s moving to LTE’
Alok Shende
Founder, Mumbai-based research firm Ascentius Consulting
Should telcos go for WiMAX or LTE deployment in India?
Bigger operators such as Bharti need not go for either WiMAX or LTE now, since they have not yet started on their 3G journey. Their existing spectrum, for instance Bharti Airtel with 8.2 MHz of existing spectrum and an additional 5 MHz for 3G, makes their network spectrally more efficient.
Newer operators with BWA spectrum have to decide on which way to go forward —- WiMAX or LTE. I believe they will have to look at compatibility, meaning whether the network they deploy is backward-compatible with their own and others’ 3G networks. LTE is backward integrated with 3G and that should be the way to go.
That is also necessary since new telcos will have to acquire subscribers through roaming agreements with 2G/3G telcos.
But LTE has not yet matured as a technology. So where is the business case?
It is not appropriate to say that LTE has not matured yet. China Mobile, for instance, is going ahead with LTE deployment. Clearwire in the US, which started off with WiMAX, has declared it will move over to LTE. We hear commercial deployments will happen in 2011.
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