Although termed by many as one of the hottest technologies and the only wireless access media that can facilitate large-scale broadband deployment, WiMax is unlikely to see a commercial deployment in India until the early next year.

Indian operators, who are betting big on WiMax or even eyeing at it to complement their existing DSL-based broadband offerings, cannot expect to deploy it commercially unless they overcome the hurdles related to the allocation of spectrum and availability of certified standard equipment that can work in a multi-vendor environment. In fact the two issues are intertwined and lead to the high cost of WiMax equipment, a factor that would be a major hurdle for operators looking at mass based business models.

Frequencies Too Many
The availability of the right spectrum and in right amount is the key to the success of any wireless technology, and WiMax is no exception. The case of WiMax is a complicated one in the sense that as of now WiMax equipment are meant to operate in a scattered spectrum environment. In other words, there's no single frequency band common across the globe for WiMax equipment. As things stand today, the list of frequencies that a WiMax equipment would need to incorporate is a long one and includes 2.3 GHz, 2.5 GHz, 3.4 GHz, 3.5 GHz, 3.6 GHz, 5.4 GHz, 5.8 GHz and possibly others such as 700 MHz and 900 MHz. This scattered spectrum environment means that issues related to interoperability cannot be sorted out unless spectrum is harmonized. It also means that equipment vendors would have limited ability to drop WiMax equipment prices.

WiMax Forum, a nonprofit industry organization comprised of vendors and service providers, considers global harmonization or the uniform allocation of spectrum worldwide as crucial for lowering equipment costs because radios are a major cost component in developing WiMax Forum Certified systems. The Forum is hopeful that in the next two years (through the 2006 timeframe), a reasonable level of global harmonization for broadband wireless access can be achieved in the 2.5 GHz, 3.5 GHz and 5 GHZ spectrum bands.

Broadband operators and vendors across the world feel that the 2.5 GHz and 3.5 GHz frequencies would be ideal for WiMax. The first of the products that will be certified by the WiMax Forum in the months ahead will operate in the 3.5 GHz band. Certified equipment for 2.5 GHz and 5 GHz band (U.S.) are expected in 2006.

In several countries across Asia, Europe and Latin America, operators are building wireless broadband networks that would operate in these bands. The 2.5 GHz band is being used in some Latin American countries including Mexico and some Asian countries and in Lebanon in the Middle East. In Europe, operators such as Altitude (France) and Iberbanda (Spain) are building broadband wireless networks in the band with the intent of migrating them to certified WiMax. The 3.5 GHz band is also operational in Latin America, China and Canada.

However, it would not be a cakewalk for operators to get governments and regulators to open these bands for them. For instance in Europe, the 2.5 GHz was set aside as an expansion band for 3G and is due to be allocated across the continent by 2008. Even though the European Commission seems to agree with the 3G operators' contention that 2.5 GHz is exclusively meant for 3G technologies, it's going to be tough call for WiMax operators as 3G operators are lobbying hard to ensure the bands exclusivity for them.

India: No Frequency So Far
Despite all the noise about making broadband available to the masses, and the Union Communications and IT Minister, Dayanidhi Maran, posing positive on wireless broadband, WiMax has failed to gain the attention that it deserves. The spectrum allocation for WiMax is yet to take place.

While the Broadband Policy, announced by the government last year, recognizes the role of wireless in the spread of broadband, there was no spice in it that could excite WiMax enthusiasts. The policy only talked of de-licensing 2.40-2.48 GHz band and 5.15-5.35 GHz band. Operators have shown no keenness on these unlicensed bands. Though the National Frequency Allocation Plan has made some provisions for the use of 2.5GHz and the government has opened up 3.3 GHz, leading broadband operators such as Bharti are more inclined towards the 3.5 GHz. This is because the first set of WiMax equipment is meant for operating in this band.

Arguing that in a country like India, WiMax holds enormous potential to extend broadband into areas that are underserved or not at all penetrated owing to a variety of reasons, the Internet Service Providers Association of India says that as most of the development for WiMax is being done in the 2.3-2.5 GHz and 3.4-3.7 GHz bands, it would be only proper to make enabling provisions in the upcoming National Frequency Allocation Plan for case-by-case consideration for such systems.

High CPE Cost A Dampener
Besides the issues relating to spectrum, another major hurdle that broadband operators would face is that of the cost of WiMax Customer Premises Equipment (CPEs) that would account for around 50-60 percent of an operator's capex. The cost of WiMax CPEs is likely to remain on the higher side for another 2-3 years. As such, operators would find it difficult to roll out WiMax on a mass scale. At best, they can use it to complement their existing DSL or Ethernet based broadband offerings.

Compared to a DSL modem that costs less than a $50, the first set of WiMax CPE would cost $350. According to WiMax Forum, the first generation of WiMax Forum Certified CPEs is expected to be outdoor-installable subscriber stations akin to a small satellite dish. These are expected to be available in late 2005/early 2006 and priced around $350. The second generation of CPEs will be indoor self-installable modems similar to a cable or DSL modem and will be priced at around $250 and are expected to be available in 2006. Third-generation CPEs will be integrated into laptops and other portable devices. Thye are expected to initially cost approximately $100 and will be available in between 2006-2007.

Given this high cost, it is unlikely that India would see a major breakthrough in WiMax deployment. In the current scenario, the lowest CPE cost that an operator can offer (by working on different business models) is around $205 that is expected to go down to $81 by 2010. Given this, even though WiMax is on the radar of almost all the leading operators in the country with each one either doing trials or planning, it is unlikely to gain any precedence over their DSL or Metro Ethernet based initiatives. WiMax would take years to attain the level of maturity that DSL and Metro-Ethernet based technologies have attained in terms of technology and cost.

For WiMax-based broadband services to roll out without any hitch, all issues relating to spectrum allocation would need to be sorted out before hand. On other hand, as of now equipment prices are too much on the higher side for a country like India. Vendors would need to work fast on reducing equipment prices so that WiMax-based broadband services witness commercial deployment.

Ravi Shekhar Pandey