WiMAX rollout with 20 MHz difficult: Ericsson
05-04-2010
WiMAX requires "minimum 30 MHz of spectrum", and could cause "severe interference problems".
As India's auction of 3G and WiMAX spectrum nears, the knives are out and proponents of LTE and WiMAX are at each other's throats. The stakes are high: "Wrapping up the Indian market would be a major coup for either technology in terms of economies of scale and maturity" (Fierce Wireless).
First it was Qualcomm, whose choice of TD-LTE instead of WiMAX caused a furore in WiMAX circles. Now Ericsson is advising operators against adopting WiMAX technology, saying it cannot be deployed with just 20 MHz of frequency, and recommends long-term evolution (LTE) as a better alternative, according to a report in Economic Times.
"It is commonly known in the industry that WiMax requires minimum 30 MHz of spectrum, whereas India is offering only 20 MHz and this may result in severe interference problems" Ericsson chief technology officer Haken Eriksson says.
On the other hand, the WiMax forum has been advocating that WiMax is the technology for mobile broadband and it can offer much higher speed of upto 30 mega bits per second (Mbps) compared to just 14 Mbps in case of 3G technology.
The government plans to auction two 20 MHz unpaired blocks of spectrum in each of the country's 22 service areas. Aggressive bidding is expected as 11 players would be up against each other to grab a slot. Leading mobile operators, including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, RCom and Tatas, and several new entrants are participating in the forthcoming auction of 3G and Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) spectrum, which begins next week.
Asked about the availability of LTE, Eriksson said "LTE as technology is already launched, and is just months away from large scale deployments"
According to Eriksson, LTE is a natural evolution of GSM and the CDMA standards as the large global coverage enables easy inward and outward roaming. "The situation will be similar to the existing difference between GSM and CDMA mobile operators, as WiMax is estimated to reach a global market share of only 1%" he adds. "The government has taken the right step by deciding to auction 20 MHz of BWA spectrum to bring the benefits of mobile broadband to the Indian masses with its technology neutral stand and it was now for the operators who will bid and retain this spectrum to opt for better technology" Eriksson says.
Inputs from Economic Times
As India's auction of 3G and WiMAX spectrum nears, the knives are out and proponents of LTE and WiMAX are at each other's throats. The stakes are high: "Wrapping up the Indian market would be a major coup for either technology in terms of economies of scale and maturity" (Fierce Wireless).
First it was Qualcomm, whose choice of TD-LTE instead of WiMAX caused a furore in WiMAX circles. Now Ericsson is advising operators against adopting WiMAX technology, saying it cannot be deployed with just 20 MHz of frequency, and recommends long-term evolution (LTE) as a better alternative, according to a report in Economic Times.
"It is commonly known in the industry that WiMax requires minimum 30 MHz of spectrum, whereas India is offering only 20 MHz and this may result in severe interference problems" Ericsson chief technology officer Haken Eriksson says.
On the other hand, the WiMax forum has been advocating that WiMax is the technology for mobile broadband and it can offer much higher speed of upto 30 mega bits per second (Mbps) compared to just 14 Mbps in case of 3G technology.
The government plans to auction two 20 MHz unpaired blocks of spectrum in each of the country's 22 service areas. Aggressive bidding is expected as 11 players would be up against each other to grab a slot. Leading mobile operators, including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, RCom and Tatas, and several new entrants are participating in the forthcoming auction of 3G and Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) spectrum, which begins next week.
Asked about the availability of LTE, Eriksson said "LTE as technology is already launched, and is just months away from large scale deployments"
According to Eriksson, LTE is a natural evolution of GSM and the CDMA standards as the large global coverage enables easy inward and outward roaming. "The situation will be similar to the existing difference between GSM and CDMA mobile operators, as WiMax is estimated to reach a global market share of only 1%" he adds. "The government has taken the right step by deciding to auction 20 MHz of BWA spectrum to bring the benefits of mobile broadband to the Indian masses with its technology neutral stand and it was now for the operators who will bid and retain this spectrum to opt for better technology" Eriksson says.
Inputs from Economic Times
