As India is losing its bet on broadband targets, it appears that this is the right time to look at various alternative technologies to provide last-mile connectivity to customers.

Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity) is a cost-effective technology that connects PCs and other electronic devices, wirelessly to the Web. With Wi-Fi, consumers have an advantage of sharing broadband connection with the convenience of anywhere connectivity within the circle.

It could also work efficaciously in places where cable cannot reach or run. Indian cities such as Pune and Hyderabad have already experienced the service at a very broad level.

With a continuous decrease in the prices of laptops and a growing number of mobile savvy youth who want to go mobile, the market for Wi-Fi looks quite promising, and is finding the way into corporate, SMEs, and higher learning centers in India.

According to a recent study report by Wi-Fi Alliance, a global, non-profit industry association, the Wi-Fi market in India is estimated to grow to $891 mn by 2011-12, scoring a 36% compound annual growth rate as compared to 2008. This figure includes WLAN gear, networking tools, professional services, wireless Internet service provider (WISP) revenues, Wi-Fi applications that are being built for niche sectors, handheld terminals, and system integration services, but does not include chipsets in laptops, cell phone handsets, and other devices.

The study further reveals that India is on the verge of a sustained demand for wireless networking.

"Wi-Fi is a very mature technology with a range of backhaul technologies, including DSL, WiMax, or FTTX, which could make it a natural supporter of service providers in extending the 'last-mile' connectivity to the user. The Wi-Fi adoption is poised to grow as apart from notebook computers, it is increasingly being deployed as a feature on the mobile phones, thereby creating a possibility to be used by a large pool of consumers," says Kelly Davis-Felner, senior marketing manager, Wi-Fi Alliance.

The report estimates the number of public access Wi-Fi hotspots in India to be between 1,500-1,600 at present, and with aggressive entry strategies of service providers, it can grow dramatically during the next few years.

Interestingly, the technology is gaining momentum in being used as wireless connectivity at various hotspot points such as airports, railway and metro stations, higher learning institutes, hotels, and coffee shops. Moreover, Wi-Fi can be deployed at a very low cost as it uses unlicensed spectrum.

"With the growing number of higher study institutions such as engineering and management schools, where most students use notebooks/laptops for their day-to-day assignments and presentations, the demand for Wi-Fi enabled campuses automatically resurges,” Felner says.

For public hotspot access, IEEE 802.11b is the most accepted WLAN technology that can work in the unlicensed 2.4 GHz bandwidth in public spectrum bands with speed up to 11 Mbps.

According to Sumit Bhatia, director, Sales, Carrier Networks, ADC Krone, India and Saarc, “There should be an improvement in infrastructure and a reduction of access costs for high broadband penetration rate. However, the situation is not very promising at present. Therefore, it is imperative from the service provider's side to consider new technologies such as Wi-Fi and WiMax along with 3G to increase broadband penetration in the country, especially the rural sector."

"Besides, WiMax and Wi-Fi can be combined with WiMax providing backhaul and Wi-Fi providing the in-building coverage. With the government looking toward freeing 2.5 Ghz for WiMax, it appears to be the technology solution of choice," he adds.

O-Zone Networks, which offers national wireless LAN coverage across India, has been working with DLF to provide Wi-Fi Internet access points across the country. The company is planning to roll out more than 6,000 locations in the next four years and aims to cover a wide range of venues, including shopping complexes, coffee shops, fast food chains and hotels as well as major international airports, which include comprehensive coverage in the business destinations such as Delhi and Gurgaon, and various cyber parks.

“In my opinion, there is a need to study the evolved broadband markets and implement technologies suitable and viable to Indian conditions. It is time to look at technologies other than DSL, like HFC and wireless, to ensure that the benefits of broadband reaches everyone,” says EVS Chakravarthy, CEO, YOU Telecom. “Wireless technologies like Wi-Fi will not only allow us to enhance the existing connectivity, but enable our network to reach areas where we are not present," he added.

YOU Telecom is presently evaluating emerging technologies like Wi-Fi to enhance the connectivity across twelve operational cities.

Tata Communications, part of the Tata Group, has announced its plans to increase the hotspot locations to over 1,000 from the existing 350, and is working with the Taj Group of Hotels, Le Meridian, Café Coffee Day, Barista, Manipal University, Wockhardt and others.

“In many developed countries like the US, a growing number of Wi-Fi hotspots are being deployed in public areas such as convention centers, hotels, airports, and coffee shops. The trend has been catching in India as well,” says Ajay Masur, CIO, HIRCO.

However, because of the wireless nature of the technology, security remains a vital challenge for its operations. Therefore, it is essential to have a strong supervision and encryption management for the successful operation of the technology.

Another hurdle in implementing Wi-Fi is backhaul for which WiMax can be utilized. However, service providers are still waiting for WiMax spectrum. For this, Trai has already recommended in its report that the USO fund be utilized to subsidies backhaul charges, including international Internet bandwidth, for a period of three years.

Many Wi-Fi hotspot operators are using wired broadband connections to connect the hotspots back to a network point-of-presence.

As laying copper and fiber cables seems to be very expensive and complex for enhancing rural connectivity in India, wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi could be the answer for heightening rural broadband connectivity with limited access points.

The success of projects such as Ashwini is testimony to the potential of wireless technology. Ashwini, a project by Byrraju Foundation, a non-profit organization, was implemented to provide a virtual delivery platform to rural people in Andhra Pradesh to drive rural savvy services such as computer literacy, telemedicine, e-education, personality development programs, etc, through the help of videoconferencing. At present, there are 33 WiFi enabled Ashwini centers in operation, confirms joseph Thamas, lead partner, ICT for rural development, Byrraju Foundation.

Another worth-mentioning example could be of Aravind Eye Care System, a group of five hospitals in South India, which is changing the lives of many rural citizens, in association with Intel and UC Berkeley, with support from the National Science Foundation. The concept is a perfect example of telemedicine where a number of people in rural areas are experiencing quality eye care without bothering themselves to walk hundreds of kilometers. The technology is essentially based on Wi-Fi networks, which allows an Aravind Eye Hospital ophthalmologist at Theni in Tamil Nadu to test patients in five remote clinics via a high-quality videoconferencing.

The state governments have also started recognizing the potential of Wi-Fi and are working on the projects with Wi-Fi local networks and WiMax backhaul. However, it is important on the part of the government to provide support in terms of funding and assistance to service providers via a business model which could fasten the process of rural connectivity through Wi-Fi.

Jatinder Singh
jatinders@cybermedia.co.in