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Vanu has recently raised $32 mn to invest in India and the US. What part of the fund collected is to be spent in India?
The main purpose of raising this round of funding is to invest in the growth of our business in India. So, most of the resources will be targeted toward this market and will largely support business development, marketing, and integration currently underway in India. This market is our key priority. Work done to support our growth and success in this market will take place both in India and in the US.

India is moving toward 3G? How do you think your service is going to benefit the Indian operators?
It is a good sign that India is moving toward a new technology. In the present scenario, operators would need to invest in two discrete networks to run both 2G and 3G in the same market. We provide software radio infrastructure solutions for cellular operators. Our technology allows operators to support multiple waveform standards and/or multiple generations of the same waveform on a single network. Markets like India can really depend on us.

What do you think are the present needs of wireless infrastructure in India?
The Indian operators are faced with the highest mobile growth in the world along with the lowest ARPU expectations. In rural markets this problem is even more pronounced. In order to keep up with this growth potential and maintain reasonable cost scenarios, these operators will need to look beyond the conventional methods for supporting mobile expansion. They will need to innovate.

What are your plans of expansion in India?
Currently, we have a development center in Bangalore. We are also building a business office in Delhi. A reasonable share of the fund will be employed at both the centers. We are in the process of significantly expanding our presence in India through increased staffing and strategic partnerships.

What are the major challenges that you face in the market?
The biggest challenge in this market is to maintain a reasonable and cost-effective scenario, which is a result of the rapid growth of this market. ARPUs in the West are 10 times higher than India, growth is much slower, and the rural population is much smaller. To solve these issues, Indian operators and service providers require a different way to look at market expansion. Our technology allows carriers to create innovative solutions to overcome these challenges.

Heena Jhingan
heenaj@cybermedia.co.in