Abstract

Frequency Interference Arising from Collision with Satellite Services Needs Solving

Due to India's wide geographical expanse, the remote and even urban regions of India rely heavily on satellite services for broadcasting and communications purposes. Satellite communications have become a major means of access to the present communications services in the remote regions of India. As a result, the 2.5GHz and 3.5GHz frequency bands, commonly used for WiMAX globally, face problems of signal and frequency interference colliding with the satellite services in India.

As satellite services currently operating in the 2.5GHz band cannot be shifted to other frequencies immediately, the DoT tends to limit the TDD WiMAX services offered within this range to indoor data access alone. Meanwhile, the DoT seeks to gradually transfer the MSS services in the 2.5GHz band to the remote regions, so as to facilitate the deployment of WiMAX and commencement of service in the urban regions.

Although the DoT and DoS have not reached agreement on the usage of 3.5GHz band, the DoT has designated 3.5GHz for WiMAX in the future. The DoT is currently in talks with the DoS over this matter. Should the two departments reach consensus, the DoT is expected to accelerate the release of 3.5GHz spectrum. Therefore, looking at the long-term development of WiMAX in India, 3.5GHz will be used for WiMAX deployment as well.

Importance of Release 1.5 to Increase; Results of BSNL's FDD WiMAX Deployment Expected to Be Crucial for India's WiMAX Development

The WiMAX Forum and IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) have added new frequency bands and technological requirements in Mobile WiMAX Release 1.5. In addition to the existing 2.3GHz, 2.5GHz, and 3.5GHz, 700MHz, AWS (Advanced Wireless Service), and WCS (Wireless Communications Service) are included as supporting bands for the first time. As for technological requirements, originally TDD is used in Mobile WiMAX wave 1 and wave 2. In Release 1.5, however, FDD is added, too.

So far the DoT has released two WiMAX licenses. BSNL has been granted 2x10MHz bands in Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh. BSNL is supposed to deploy FDD WiMAX in said regions, which are expected to become the first locales worldwide to see FDD WiMAX deployment. Moreover, as FDD is designed to facilitate real-time uplink and downlink services, it is expected that BSNL's FDD deployment will make significant contributions to the development of WiMAX mobile voice service in India.

Meanwhile, the DoT has decided to include 700MHz in its future BWA scheme and has planned to use 700MHz in the remote regions where wired broadband access is limited. It is planned that the first 700MHz spectrum will be released in a year or two, and it is expected that 700MHz will play an important role in the deployment of WiMAX in India.

Appendix

Research Scope

This report analyzes the development of WiMAX in India, covering topics such as telecommunications authorities as well as policies regarding spectrum usage and license issuance, so as to facilitate understanding of the environment and current status of WiMAX in the country.

Definitions

WiMAX

WiMaX consists of three major market segments: pre-WiMAX, 802.16d Fixed WiMAX, and 802.16e Mobile WiMAX. The IEEE 802.16-2004 standard, also known as 802.16d, targets the fixed wireless broadband market and defines a point-to-multipoint OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) wireless network theoretically capable of reaching a distance of 30 miles with a maximum speed of 70Mbps. The IEEE 802.16e standard targets the mobile voice and data transmission market and is capable of reaching a maximum transmission rate of 15Mbps within a radius of three miles from the base station.

The 802.16e wave2 standard has already been formulated. The WiMAX Forum and IEEE 802.16 Task Group are currently working on the standardization of Release 1.5 and 802.16m. It is expected that related commercial products will hit the market starting in mid-2009.

Telecom Service Areas in India

Glossary of Terms

List of Companies