India Broadband Forum

India Broadband Internet

High-speed information exchange has become necessary in the present scenario with swiftly growing business activity all over the world. In most parts of the world, the existing infrastructure is not able to grapple with demand for such high-speed communications. On the other hand, wireless systems, with their fast deployment, have proven to be reliable and economical transmission media. Broadband wireless access (BWA) is a technology meant to provide wireless access to data networks with high data rates. As per the 802.16 standard, broadband means bandwidth greater than 1 MHz that supports data rates greater than 1.5 Mbit per second. From the point of connectivity, BWA is equivalent to broadband wired access such as ADSL or cable modems.

Fixed Broadband Wireless Access allows digital two-way voice, data, Internet and video services making use of the point-to-multipoint technology. Licensed bands for 3.5 GHz BWA systems are available in South America, Asia, Europe and Canada. The 10.5 GHz band is used in Central and South America and also in Asia, where business is fast expanding. The fixed wireless market for broadband at MBPS transmission rates is witnessing rapid growth as it provides easily deployable low-cost solution as compared to the existing cable and DSL technologies for the suburban atmosphere.

Mobile Broadband Wireless Access systems operate in licensed bands below 3.5 GHz. They are best suited for IP-data transport with peak data rates per user in excess of 1 MBPS. The MBWA under the standard 802.20 supports various vehicular mobility classes up to 250 km/h in a MAN environment and sustains greater number of users than the existing mobile systems.

A new generation of equipment referred to as N-BWA is generating a lot of interest as it costs less and does more. A number of vendors including Airspan, Navini, Flarion and Redline are showing a lot of interest in N-BWA with support from technology enablers such as Intel and Qualcomm. N-BWA does not fit into a niche as the providers believe that it poses a challenge to mainstream fixed broadband services, suited to regions where DSL cannot reach, is an alternative to Wi-Fi (802.11), which is suited to wide area applications. N-BWA can be harnessed to ensure availability of spectrum on easier terms. It can play an important role in universalising broadband as the governments all over want broadband to be widely available.