3G technology has created waves across the globe but will it be able to repeat its success story in India is still to be experienced.
With an overall tele-density touching 16% and rural being a measly two percent, what will be the scope for growth of 3G mobiles in India?
While a majority of the Indian customers are 2G and 2.5G technology savvy, will 3G be able to penetrate their psyches? Are Indian suppliers equipped to support applications?
Considering the fact that 3G technology will focus on masses as well as classes, equipment suppliers, regulators, system integrators, the government, et al are penning strategies for its evolution here.
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has already submitted its recommendations on the issue to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Government of India.
A single day conference held on Friday, at a suburban hotel, discussed strategic issues, opportunities and challenges for rolling out 3G technology in India.
M S Rana, executive director, MTNL, Mumbai opened the debate asking whether the majority of Indian community is ready for 3G technology? He queried, "Will 3G be marketed as a business solution or a technology?" Rana noted that it may be mainly used for data and that the service providers are yet to clear the pricing aspect.
Echoing his sentiments on the price issue was Dr Biswadip Mitra, MD, Texas Instruments. He observed, "3G technology could be mass deployment only if the handsets are affordable." Laying bare TI's initiative, he said, "We will also use single chip solutions to reduce cost and increase battery life. Scalability is another important concept, since high-end customers will use 3D graphics and video conferencing facilities. The software and interfaces should be able to scale multi-media features."
Kuldeep Goyal, chief general manager, BSNL (Maharashtra circle) felt that the license should be issued to existing players to avoid congestion.
BV Raman, country head-India, CDMA Development Group questioned TRAI logic for not awarding EVDO services on CDMA. He said, though CDMA is 3G capable, why has the government not cleared its proposal to EVDO, even as EDGE can use it on GPRS and GSM technologies.
Speaking about challenges in the 3G market, he said the existing traffic is voice centric and short messaging service (SMS). Initiatives such as e-education, e-medicine, and e-governance will boost roll out. The content for such information should be in a local language. "At present, coverage is mostly urban centric, connectivity has to be increased in the rural areas so as to penetrate the reach of the 3G technology there," he concluded.
