Connectivity everywhere

Mobile connectivity: Options galore

Wi-Fi and WiMAX have enabled the permeability of Internet connectivity to the handheld device. GPRS and CDMA spell convenience and 3G will take it a step further, finds Chirasrota Jena.

Wireless technologies are starting to offer a reliable alternative to fixed-line access, suggesting that widespread and affordable connectivity can be provided to every region, village, and person in India. Wireless access is more convenient now as multiple radios can be found on one device. Although the technology has been around for a decade now, it is just starting to catch on with Indian enterprises. In the last three months there has been significant movement in the wireless computing segment. Wireless equipment makers have recorded jump in sales and many systems integrators are preparing to enter this space. Some have already completed wireless deployments with the help of leading Internet service providers who are offering last mile wireless connectivity.

Indian carriers have acquired a spectrum to deploy wireless broadband services and expressed interest in going ahead with WiMAX. BSNL, the market leader, has announced plans to offer WiMAX services in Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, New Delhi, and Mumbai in 2006. Apart from BSNL, Sify, Bharti Airtel, Reliance, and MTNL are crafting customer-friendly strategies to tap the market. Players in the field of Wi-Fi and WiMax are working with these service providers.

WiMAX and Wi-Fi provide wireless access to the Internet from a notebook, personal digital assistant (PDA) or a similar hand-held device. Some mobile phones and PDAs now come with Wi-Fi chips. With mobile phones, this means conventional networks can be bypassed and inexpensive long-distance calls made using VoWiFi (Voice over Wireless Fidelity).

The state of connectivity

BSNL is held to be India’s largest mobile operator with over 20 million subscribers. It claims to provide the cheapest call rates and roaming with the widest network that covers every corner of the country. As the Indian cellular market explodes, BSNL has floated a tender of 60 million GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) lines for the next three years. BSNL remains committed to increase India’s teledensity and promote the use of mobile telephony up to the block level.

Cellular service providers offer Internet services wherein the handset acts as a modem. While GSM data services have been around for as long as cellular networks themselves, the expensive, unreliable and slow (9.6 Kbps) connectivity, plus the fact that you still needed an account with an Internet service provider, made GSM-based Net access pretty unpopular in the past.

Things changed around 2003 when GSM operators began providing GPRS (General Packet Radio Services) connectivity and offered speeds that compared favourably with basic rate ISDN. CDMA (Code-Division Multiple Access) providers offered speeds as high as 128 Kbps. By early 2005, it had become common place for users to utilise their mobile phones for accessing the Net, especially notebook users. Even where Wi-Fi is available at hotels and other transit points, users find it more convenient to use their existing GPRS or CDMA services rather than struggle with configuring to use the local Wi-Fi network. Dialup connectivity’s biggest bugbear has been the pulse charges and in 2004, almost all cellular phone service providers introduced flat tariffs where you pay extra only if you exceed a bandwidth limit, usually 500 MB or 1 GB.

Ashish Arora, VP, Enterprise Solutions, Sify says, “The proliferation of the mobile work force, cheaper equipment and access devices as well as inherent productivity benefits that wireless networks can offer are some of the key drivers for the adoption of Wi-Fi. There is a significant offtake of wireless in the enterprises with more organisations realising the benefits that wireless connectivity brings to an organisation in terms of productivity and efficiency.”

Wi-Fi was at first ignored by cellular carriers for fear that Wi-Fi data use by customers would take away potential revenue that cellular carriers hoped to get from cellular data services, but Wi-Fi has spread so fast that cellular carriers can no longer ignore the technology.

Instead a few cellular carriers have embraced Wi-Fi, rolling out Wi-Fi hotspot networks, and are offering the technology as a compliment to cellular connectivity. Those cellular carriers that haven’t embraced Wi-Fi are no doubt watching the technology closely.

Most notebooks and, to a lesser extent, smart handheld devices come with built-in Wi-Fi connectivity; it is also possible to add Wi-Fi with a PC card.

"The mobile wireless market will take some time to grow its base in India. At present there is a demand for fixed broadband access" - Protip Ghose VP, Sales and Marketing, APAC Telsima Communication

Protip Ghose, VP, Sales and Marketing, APAC, Telsima Communication elaborates, “In contrast to the growth of mobile technology in India, the country is struggling to get broadband connectivity off the ground with its limited fixed-line infrastructure thus paving the way for WiMAX as a potential saviour. The problem with WiMAX as a solution for India today is it may be too little and too early for the kind of large-scale rapid deployment that is needed. However, the market will definitely move in an upward direction.” WiMax has been piloted but widespread availability isn’t there yet.

Wireless technologies such as 3G, Wi-Fi, and WiMAX will co-exist, working synergistically together to meet unique customer needs. It is likely that no single broadband wireless technology will dominate.

Surendra Arora, Director, South Asia (Customer Solutions Group), Intel informs, “Wi-Fi hotspots have evolved and have become more common in a variety of locations including retail areas, public spaces, office buildings, and stadiums. Mesh networks have evolved to become the architecture of choice for the rapidly increasing number of municipal wireless networks. Intel’s efforts to drive Internet connectivity will also be supporting the governments’ target of increasing the number of Net connections in India from five million in 2006 to 45 million by 2010, by accelerating the use of wireless broadband technologies such as WiMAX across India.”

For people on the move

Airtel has introduced a ‘data card’ targeting business users, roamers and travellers. This card is compatible with Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE) and GPRS offering speeds up to 200 Kbps. It works on Airtel networks nationally and on GSM networks internationally (while roaming). To begin with, the company has launched the card in a few cities but plans to make it available everywhere across the country.

According to a source from Bharti Airtel, “The new service will enable a comprehensive wireless data connectivity for people on-the-move—nationally and internationally (while roaming). The data card fits into a notebook. Customers can also send and receive SMS from their laptops using the data card.”

The introduction of the high-speed data card adds to Airtel’s suite of m-business solutions for its customers, which now also includes the globally-acclaimed BlackBerry, brought to India exclusively by Airtel.

Says A K Sinha, CMD, BSNL, “We have extended our facilities to nearly 150 hotspots across the country and are planning to add another 150 within a year. Wi-MAX is the next target. Soon we will be able to provide our customers with this connectivity. Right now our broadband services are doing well and providing our users a good connective base in the arena of Internet connectivity.”

MTNL has both GSM and CDMA services. Soon it will be coming out with 3G services. Through its Wifine service, the organisation provides a wide range of services in the Internet access segment. Sify Enterprise Solution is the corporate service arm of Sify Limited, which provides end-to-end corporate network, application and security services. Meanwhile, all eyes are on a likely CDMA-WiMAX battle.

Arora adds, “Alternative mobile broadband technologies like wireless and WiMAX will create opportunities for new entrants and existing service providers to deliver broadband solutions with non-traditional business models.”

At present, service providers are tying up with Indian enterprises to extend various solutions as far as connectivity is concerned. The next killer application is made out to be value-added services through mobile phones. Bharti Airtel, Sify, Hutch, Reliance and other carriers are providing value-added services based around data to corporate and individual customers.

Developed countries are clearly best placed to take advantage of personal broadband services, because of the higher penetration of notebooks and other data-centric devices. However, in the backdrop of growing notebook and smartphone sales in the country, wireless data usage is picking up.

BSNL is in the process of providing triple play service in the coming years and will foray into 3G services providing a wide range of service spectrum to its customers. Although the service provider has a presence in video conferencing it is in the process to start offering IPTV services, which will change the communication scenario.

Sinha adds, “India offers the lowest telecom tariffs as compared to rest of the world and our main challenge is customer retention. Apart from that we are also involved in broadening the mobile subscriber base in India, so the challenge lies in increasing or retaining our revenue base while offering minimum tariffs. We are looking at convergence onto a single platform for providing various services and end-to-end solutions. Thus our thrust will be on attracting customers with excellent services and value-additions.”

At present Sify has about 600 enterprise customers. The company has partnerships with ANC, PCW Global and Global Crossing to extend its services to 300 cities across the globe. In India, Sify has a presence in over 200 cities. All of these factors, from the robust smartphone market to compelling mobile applications, are driving wireless infrastructure needs and vice versa.

Arora informs, “Most IT and ITeS companies are our customers in India. The whole market is managed between two to three players. We are presently using BSNL’s and our infrastructure to provide our services to the customers across the country. As far as WiMAX is concerned it will take some more time to expand its presence in India.”

As pricing is a major concern area for the customers in India, carriers and vendors are working rigorously with the government to provide the facilities at low cost. Ghosh informs, “WiMAX in India is at an early stage. We don’t have sufficient infrastructural facilities to expand our reach in India. We are working with the government to finalise different models.”

A necessity

Broadband wireless access has been a niche area. The key factor behind the growth of wireless connectivity is the demand for broadband which is now considered a necessity rather than a luxury.

Ghose opines, “The mobile wireless market will take some time to grow its base in India. At present there is a demand for fixed broadband access. With the growth of mobile workforce the market will definitely move upward. Non-wireless operators are also demanding WiMAX. Telsima is currently working with major service providers along with the government for the deployment of its various WiMAX solutions in India.”

The government is a major target vertical for service providers as well as vendors in India. Most large carriers are looking to roll out fixed or mobile convergence over the next few years, based on the IP triple play of VoIP, data and broadcast.

The buzz is presently centred on 3G. We expect to see more lobbying in the corridors of power for scarce spectrum. The initial buzz is that 3G services would give the always-on connectivity to the mobile owners. That was said so about GPRS and much hoopla was raised in the market. As per the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, there were just 49,000 broadband subscribers in 2005 and the year ended with 835,000.

But considering India has a population of 1.08 billion, broadband penetration was still below 0.01 per cent. So there is huge potential for service providers and vendors. In terms of pricing and download limits much remains to be thrashed out.

According to a source from MTNL, “We need to think of Wi-Fi networks as core to building out a connected nation. The question is how to put it together to build a bottom-up community network providing low-cost, mass-market connectivity. The world has been holding its breath ever since wireless networks appeared at airports, coffee shops and of course, corporate and education campuses.”

The development of all these technologies on the connectivity front have helped the mobile workforce to work conveniently at any time and anywhere.

With the number of players in the telecom sector increasing, the acquisition cost is reducing. In a country like India where mobile phones are quickly overtaking fixed-line phone connections, it means that you can stay connected just about anywhere that you can make a mobile phone call.