UTStarcom, the US-based telecom and networking solutions firm, is working on two pilot projects with domestic telephone companies to provide IP CDMA infrastructure for mobile services, mainly in rural areas.
NEW DELHI: UTStarcom, the US-based telecom and networking solutions firm, is working on two pilot projects with domestic telephone companies to provide IP CDMA infrastructure for mobile services, mainly in rural areas.
The firm is believed to be talking to a public sector and a private enterprise for this. This is under the Universal Service Obligation (USO) Fund project for rural telephony. The IP CDMA infrastructure is targeted at offering telecom solutions in rural and emerging markets. UTStarcom managing director (South Asia) Vijay Yadav refused to comment on the pilot projects.
The firm is in talks with telecom operators for enabling internet protocol television or IPTV, sources said. Its recently announced a technology partnership for the IPTV venture of Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL). Others set to roll out IPTV include Reliance Communications, Bharti, BSNL and the Tatas.
Operators will spend anything between $50 and $125 per subscriber for deploying IP CDMA infrastructure, depending on the model. While the capital expenditure is higher in the case of IP-based infrastructure, when compared with traditional telecom solutions, the operational cost is much lower, a UTStarcom source said.
An UTStarcom paper said the industry tends to ignore a significant issue—basic voice and data connectivity in emerging markets and in rural areas of developed countries. “The real issue has been the high per-capita infrastructure and operating cost of a traditional network,” the paper argued. It added that, “wireless connectivity provided by an all-IP CDMA network can help remedy this situation”. Recently, Angola and Bangladesh deployed IP CDMA network.
While IP CDMA infrastructure “is a cost-effective means of providing basic as well as advanced forms of mobile communications. Operators can distribute the network elements in an all-IP network, thereby enabling local calls to remain in the local domain,” according to an UTStarcom official.
“Instead of all traffic being backhauled to a central point-of-presence, local traffic is directed to the nearest local gateway. This results in reduced transmission costs and significant operational cost savings compared to traditional voice networks,” the UTStarcom paper says. Ultimately, both operators and users benefit - while users are charged lower tariff, which leads to higher mobile penetration and network usage for the operator.
UTStarcom’s IP CDMA was “field-proven by emergency response officials in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, when almost all other means of communication was unavailable,” a statement said. UTStarcom’s emergency response communications vehicle, based on IP CDMA infrastructure technology, is capable of providing voice, packet data, circuit data, and push-to-talk capabilities, and can be easily moved to the sites of natural disasters.
Switch beam
UTStarcom is in talks with all potential telecom companies for enabling internet protocol television or IPTV.
Its technology partnership for the IPTV venture of Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) was announced recently
Others set to roll out IPTV include Reliance Communications, Bharti, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and the Tatas
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