WiMAX in INDIA ! ! !

BSNL's WiMAX order to be finalized next week

March 03, 2009

Three global telecom firms Huawei, Telsima and Alvarion emerged as front runner for bid order of state-owned telecom service provider Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd’s (BSNL)'s WiMax equipment. The winners are expected to be announced next week, enabling launch of much awaited Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax) services by state owned telecom giant.
Chinese vendor Huawei, US-based Telsima and Nasdaq-listed Alvarion are in the final lap of the project, with the companies quoting the lowest prices (L1). The winner will be announced next week, sources close to the development told Business Standard.
Companies like ZTE and Alactel-Lucent have also placed their bids, sources said. Other telecom vendor companies such as ZTE and Alactel-Lucent are also in the race. However, they have to face stiff competition from foreign telecom players on the lowest price (L1) issue.
BSNL was planning for a nation-wide rollout of WiMax services with a total investment of over $1 billion.
The company is offering WiMax under the 2.5-GHz band, a superior frequency, compared with the private players who are currently offering under 3.3 GHz. WiMax will enable the companies to offer high-speed Internet access on laptops and mobile handsets.
BSNL and its sister-concern Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) have received WiMax spectrum on a preferential basis, while the private companies will have to wait bid for spectrum.
Huwaei had earlier received bagged a BSNL contract to set up 1,000 common service centres (CSC) in rural areas, while the company is also believed to be bidding for the state-owned company’s 3G rollout. Alvarion had deployed over 3 million WiMax units in 150 countries, while Telsima is a five year-old India focused WiMax solutions firm.
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd has reserved amount of over $1 billion to roll out WiMax service, a telecommunication technology for wireless transmission of data from one point to another. The technology, based on the IEEE 802.16 standard, provides broadband internet downloading speed of 72 Mbit/s without any cable connection. The company is facing stiff competition from private telecommunication companies, providing internet broadband connectivity through wireless links.
BSNL has already launched WiMax in Gujarat (using US-based Soma Networks solutions), while plans are afoot to roll out services across Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.The state run company aims to extend WiMax services across all major towns of country in the coming financial year. It is already providing the services, under the 2.5-GHz band, in Gujarat with the help of US-based Soma Networks solutions.
A BSNL executive said, "We are aiming for 50,000 connections in each state in 2008, 500,000 in each state by 2010."
[Source:- a) http://www.topnews.in/ (Keshav Seth); b) http://www.business-standard.com/]