4G-LTE – 3 Years Away to be Mass Market in India
Now that Airtel has been selectively launching 4G LTE Wireless Broadband services, we thought of an ears on the ground survey by talking to vendors, resellers and service providers.
India has traditionally been a late adopter of technology, as it has less purchasing power than other countries. With voice taking 7 years to achieve mass penetration and 3G failing to achieve critical levels mass even after a year. We believe that the market is not yet ready for 4G LTE.
Eco-system TD-LTE Vs FDD-LTE – US have adopted FDD-LTE, China Mobile has every incentive to rapidly migrate to TD-LTE. Indian operators are set to adopt TD-LTE. LTE handsets don’t support voice[seamless voice like 2G, VoIP is a different story] today which will be essential in the Indian context. Led by Qualcomm their are some technology advances that will be inducted into the high end smartphones which is not relevant in the context of India.
Telecom Customers in India are very sensitive to affordability and the slow pick-up in 3G is a reflection of the challenges the operators face to drive data take-up in an environment with no handset subsidies. Mass production of LTE handsets – wherein there are economies of scale to produce phones at a cheaper price – is not happening anytime soon. Moreover, not all operators are in a hurry to develop the technology to support voice in the LTE ecosystem. The primary intention of scaling up 4G is to support the burgeoning data traffic.
We feel that India is an unusual market Read the rest of this entry »
Aircel 3G – Pocket Internet Smart Plans go Unlimited – Lowest Pricing
Aircel which revolutionized Pocket Internet Plans in India is back with another disruptive offer but favorable to consumer – All Aircel 3G Pocket Internet Smart Plans come with UNLIMITED Usage, of-course there is a Fair Usage Policy – FUP, but still compared to other 3G Plans in India, Aircel will be the cheapest.
Aircel is in pact with Tata DoCoMo to offer its consumers 3G Data in circles where it has not Won the spectrum. Thus subscribers of Aircel will have seamless coverage of 3G Internet and at places where the same is not available, you will definitely have 2G GPRS Connectivity.
Why Should Consumers opt for Aircel 3G ?
Currently with 3G/2G packs, customer has to keep switching between the networks of 2G / 3G on his phone so that he doesn’t end up using his expensive 3G data in 2G network. With the plans from Aircel, he no longer needs to do this.
Most Operators Offer 3G Plans in Limited Data Usage Capacities. However, with Aircel 3G you have no headache of Billing Shocks or anything as the speed automatically drops to 128 Kbps after exhausting the limit under the plan you have chosen.
Aircel 3G USB Dongle Plans start as low as Rs 198 / Month with 1 GB Data Usage and also their is no restrictions on type of device. You can use Aircel Card on your existing Micromax/ Huawei/ etc. dongles and benefit from these new plans
Even the Lowest Plan of Rs 7 comes with Full 3.6 Mbps Speed without any rider. Here is a summary of the Plans Offered by Aircel 3G, Read the rest of this entry »
Bharti Airtel launches 4G LTE Wireless Broadband in Kolkata
Bharti Airtel today became the first operator in India to launch 4G LTE Services in Kolkata. The airtel wireless 4G LTE service breaks free of everything you knew about the internet. Features include – wireless and blazing fast High-speed mobile internet access with bandwidth up to 40Mbps. See on What all You can Experience with 4G
What is Airtel 4G LTE ?
Airtel’s 4G LTE, or Long Term Evolution, is the latest (4th) Generation in Mobile Network Technology. Get speeds up to 100mbps while downloading, and 40mbps while uploading. Break free of buffering and waiting, and manifest your will online instantly and seamlessly. The internet will never be the same again.
How is 3G Different from 4G ?
Theoretically, 3G technology provides faster / higher data transfer rates compared to the 2G network (EDGE & GPRS).This technology can offer speeds up to 21 Mbps. An in case of 4G LTE, Data Downlaod Speed under Ideal Conditions can be as high as 100 Mbps. You can see the complete difference between GPRS / EDGE /3G and 4G here.
How to Access 4G LTE ?
Airtel is Offering Two Choices Read the rest of this entry »
Why Vodafone Prefers Voice Traffic over 3G Data ?
Vodafone India derives 13% of revenue from non‐voice services including 5% from SMS and 8% from data services. It currently has 33mn data subscribers with an average ARPU of INR75.
Data usage by its 2G customers is currently on the rise. Regarding the 3mn 3G customers after about a year of launch, Vodafone expects 3G to take off only when there is enough spectrum left after catering to voice services demand. The 2G Telecom Spectrum Scam under questionable governance of Dr. Manmohan Singh has brought the Spectrum Allocation to halt as the Honorable Supreme Court of India is now the caretaker.
Comparison on Why Voice is Better than Serving 3G Wireless Data
Vodafone Post-Paid customers have an ARPU of Rs 542 with 994 Minuteso f Usage Every Month thus translating a Revenue Per minute Read the rest of this entry »
700 MHz – 4G / LTE Spectrum Auction Unlikely to Fetch as Much as 3G
The Indian Telecommunications Minister stated that three of the four issues holding back the 4G 700 MHz auctions have been resolved. The minster thinks that this band may raise more revenues than the 3G auction.
However, we differ from this opinion because getting a 4G license is not a necessity for incumbent Telecom Operators (operators risked losing their 2G revenues if they did not get 3G license leading to an overbidding in 3G auctions). Also post 3G auctions operators are highly geared thus reducing their ability to bid aggressively. We also remain unsure if the targeted auction will occur this year as the spectrum is yet to be vacated.
The 700 MHz ecosystem (particularly on handset front) yet to fully develop, the potential for this technology to be a “mass market” technology in an emerging market like India is relatively low and would likely serve the niche high-end market. Hence, operators are unlikely to aggressively bid.
With spectrum being delinked from license and spectrum expected to come for renewal every 10 years (or 20 years), the interest from operators to aggressively bid will be very low.
The Possibility of a new operator bidding for 4G is low. Since the margins of a data-only operator are low and competing with established operators when tariffs are relatively low makes this business proposition less viable.
Better Business Case for FD-LTE Than TD-LTE:
- 700 MHz spectrum is more efficient spectrum than 2.3 GHz (existing TD-LTE band) and thus would require lower capex / opex to cover a similar footprint.
Bharti Airtel 4G – TD-LTE in Mahrashtra on Nokia Siemens + Mobile Data Trafffic to Explode
While Reliance Infotel Broadband keeps talking about 4G / LTE Wireless Broadband Access, Bharti Airtel today announced that it has finalized the deal with Nokia Siemens Networks for Managing its 4G Mobile Broadband LTE Network in the state of Maharashtra where Airtel has BWA Spectrum for LTE Services.
Sanjay Kapoor of Airtel said,
In the next five years, data will be the main thrust in India, riding on the waves of 3G or 4G technologies. As per industry estimates, mobile data traffic in the country will increase nearly 100-fold by 2015 and consumers will stream nearly 600 hours of video content – every second, thus paving way for the ensuing data revolution! LTE provides ultra high speed data access, in conjunction with 3G, this will lead the data revolution and drive fundamental changes in individual lifestyles, businesses and the society at large. We look forward to the advent of 4G technology which will be launched in India at the same time, as the rest of the world.
Sanjya Kapoor’s Prediction is more optimistic than Read the rest of this entry »
Reliance Communications – Revenues from Data Set to Double in 2-3 Years
Reliance Communications – India’s leading integrated Telecom Services Company with GSM and CDMA Licenses along with international Gigabit Circuits is all set to cash in on the Wireless Broadband / Data boom. The company which swiftly moved into Wireless Broadband Services on the CDMA-EVDO Platform 3 years ago with Reliance NetConnect Broadband+ is already generating 20% of its Revenues from Data Services.
Reliance Communications last year rolled out 3G Services and has presence in 300 Towns across India. More on Reliance 3G Operating Metrics Read the rest of this entry »
Will Reliance Communications Migrate from EVDO to FDD LTE for Wireless Internet ?
For operators like Reliance Communications that have CDMA spectrum, the advent of 4G will not pose a serious threat as the natural path for technological development is from CDMA to EVDO and subsequently to FDD LTE. [Read the difference between TD LTE Broadband Vs FDD LTE Broadband]
While TD LTE is currently the technology deployed in China, in rest of the world, the movement to FDD LTE would be more rapid. For operators like RCOM with existing infrastructure, the cost of deployment of LTE will be significantly lower than any new entrant planning to launch LTE services. One constraint, however, is the availability of bandwidth; existing BWA players have spectrum of 20 MHz and will be better placed to Read the rest of this entry »