Mobile Services
Fibre-based technologies to be a key enabler for Digital India
NEW DELHI: Broadband India Forum (BIF) said that India’s digital communications progress will be impacted adversely without the immediate roll-out of fibre across the country at the backdrop of the flagship Fibre to the Home (FTTH) event held in Mumbai today.
India lags on this front currently and urgent steps are required to redress the situation. The challenge as regards to enhancing fibre investments is due to the infrastructure providers’ inability to secure right of way to lay the broadband fibre network across states and local municipalities.
One of the key goals of the National Communications Development Policy (NDCP) is ensuring universal broadband connectivity at 50 Mbps to every citizen, providing 1 Gbps connectivity to all gram panchayats by 2020, and 10 Gbps by 2022, and ensuring connectivity to all uncovered areas. Fibre will play a key role in enabling this. So far 362,350 km of optical fibre have been laid (till August 2019) connecting 123,840 Gram Panchayats as part of the government’s ambitious BharatNet programme to provide high-speed Broadband connectivity.
Fibre-based backhaul has still not mainstreamed in India. Only ~30% of mobile towers have fibre enabled backhaul today as compared to 65-70% in South Korea, or 75-80% in the US, Japan and China. The government intends to increase India’s fibre footprint to 7.5 million fibre kilometres by 2022. In addition, the NDCP aims to fibreise at least 60% of telecom towers by 2022.
Speaking at the FTTH event, BIF President,TV Ramachandran said, “Although India’s mobile broadband story is second to none, it has not been adequately mirrored by a similar increase on wired broadband. Finally, all mobile traffic has to be hauled back through fibre which is happening very slowly. This is even more important because mobile traffic is becoming increasingly data heavy and mobile spectrum will not be sufficient to address this. Prioritising and accelerating rights-of-way to ensure quick fibre rollout as per the NDCP agenda is imperative. I look forward to all stakeholders including the centre, the states, the Telcos and affiliated industries, making a concerted effort towards enhancing the fibre network roll-out across the country to complement our Digital India aspirations.”
Ramachandran also highlighted that the investments India makes in increasing and optimising its fibre network will play a significant role in enabling India to get ready for the next generation of communications technologies.
In a prolific speech, the Chief Guest at the flagship FTTH event, Aruna Sundararajan, former Secretary-Telecom & Chairman, Digital Communications Commission said, “Fibre, like spectrum is a national resource. The Centre has given it high priority and is committed to complete fibreisation of the country. It is now up to the states to realize the importance of a continued and time-bound rollout and that this will be critical to enhancing their economic competitiveness. We need to look no further than how China has addressed this – in terms of its relentless focus on prioritizing big-ticket investments in fixed infrastructure. The NDCP clearly highlights the importance of speeding up the fibre rollout and we need to operationalize this on priority to enable faster uptake of 5G in India or else we risk being left behind.”
Sundararajan further added, “The telcos in India fully realise the need to develop the fibre network infrastructure in the country to at least 5-6 times of the present capacity, in order to propel the digital communications infrastructure and services development in the country. While the telcos are clearly intent on investing in the fibre network development, certain challenges such as taxes and levies on the industry, and the potential high pricing of spectrum that is essentially needed to be acquired, may prove a hindrance towards their efforts.”
Making her keynote address at the inaugural ceremony of the event, Ms. Sundararajan, also laid emphasis on the fact that the extent of availability of fibre to the towers, fibre in the last mile and fibre to the home would be a key factor in shaping the efficiency of the digital communications infrastructure in the country. Delving on how FTTH can help India, Ms. Sundararajan spoke about the role FTTH can play to help reduce the Digital divide, improve customer experience in delivery of broadband enabled services, job creation and overall inclusive growth.
The factors required to unleash full potential of Digital Economy 2.0 are – (a) Large availability of affordable fibre with ease and simplification of procedures for deployment, (b) Availability of adequate harmonised spectrum at an affordable price, (c) Reduced and rationalised taxes for the sector, and (d) strengthened competition and pricing regulation to prevent the mobile & internet companies from turning into monopolies.
Broadband India Forum and Bharat Exhibitions had come together to organise this flagship event on FTTH (Fibre-to-the-Home) that was titled, “Vision of FTTH in India and Current Trends of FTTH Technology across the Globe” in Mumbai today.
The conference entailed discussions and deliberations on critical topics such as the Role of Fibre-based Technologies as a Key Enabler for Digital India, Key Business Drivers & Successful Future Business Models, and the role that FTTX has played to serve a host of start-ups who range from building products, solutions & applications to solve niche problems typical to India. The event witnessed participation from a galaxy of CEOs, CTOs from leading international and local organizations who spoke about the relevance of FTTH in propelling India’s digital growth story and how it can complement the wireless technologies by making optimum utilisation of its resources.
NEW DELHI: Bharti Airtel, India’s telecommunications services provider, today announced the launch of its ultra-fast 5G services in 125 cities. Airtel 5G Plus service is now available to customers in over 265 cities in the country.
Airtel 5G Plus has three compelling advantages for customers. First, it runs on a technology that has the widest acceptance in the world with the most developed ecosystem. This ensures that all 5G smartphones in India seamlessly work on the Airtel network. Second, the company promises to deliver the best experience – between 20 to 30 times higher speeds than today coupled with brilliant voice experience and super-fast call connect. Finally, Airtel 5G Plus network will also be kinder to the environment with its special power reduction solution. Powered by the reliable Airtel network infrastructure, Airtel 5G Plus will provide superfast access to High-Definition video streaming, gaming, multiple chatting, instant uploading of photos et all.
Commenting on the launch, Randeep Sekhon, CTO, Bharti Airtel said, “5G has revolutionized the world of internet, ushering new era of connectivity and communications that will prove to be a game-changer for the country. At Airtel, we remain committed to delivering the highest quality of network and service to our customers as we roll-out 125 more cities today. Airtel was the first in the country to offer 5G services in October 2022, and today’s mega launch is our promise to connect every Airtel customer in the country with ultra-fast Airtel 5G Plus. Our 5G rollout is on track to cover all towns and key rural areas by March 2024.”
Airtel 5G Plus service availability will continue to rapidly expand – including service in all towns and villages in the country soon – as the company is working towards offering nationwide coverage. Airtel is now offering its 5G services in every major city from the upper northern city of Jammu to the southern tip of Kanyakumari.
In the last one year, Airtel has demonstrated the power of 5G with a host of powerful use cases that will change the way customers lead their lives and do business. From India’s first live 5G network in Hyderabad to India’s first private 5G network at the BOSCH facility in Bengaluru to partnering with Mahindra & Mahindra to make its Chakan manufacturing facility, India’s first 5G enabled auto manufacturing unit, Airtel has been at the forefront of 5G innovation.
NEW DELHI: Apple Inc has rolled out a beta programme to enable 5G on Apple devices as the upgrade lets users try out pre-release software.
This software upgrade enables 5G access on Apple devices, as and when service providers Jio, Airtel and Vodafone enable 5G network access, sources said.
Apple Users have to enrol for the Beta Programme on the website, install a profile and download the software.
Jio users using iPhone 12 and above, in cities where JioTrue5G has been rolled out, will be invited to the Jio Welcome Offer. Jio Welcome Offer provides unlimited 5G data at up to 1 Gbps speed to users at no additional cost. However, there is a condition that prepaid users must be on active Rs 239 and above plan. All Postpaid users are eligible for this trial.
Airtel is not providing any special 5G offer like Jio to their users. In the cities/areas in which the Airtel 5G network has been launched, users can trial 5G services as a part of their existing plan, once they have updated the latest Apple Beta software.
While an email sent to Apple did not solicit an immediate response, the firm had last month stated: “We are working with our carrier partners in India to bring the best 5G experience to iPhone users as soon as network validation and testing for quality and performance is completed. 5G will be enabled via a software update and will start rolling out to iPhone users in December”.
Airtel and Jio customers on iPhone 14, iPhone 13, iPhone 12 and iPhone SE (3rd generation) models can experience 5G as part of Apple’s iOS 16 Beta Software Program. The Apple Beta Software Program is open to anyone with a valid Apple ID who accepts the Apple Beta Software Program Agreement during the sign-up process.
If a user has an iCloud account, that is an Apple ID, it is recommended they use that. If they do not have an iCloud account or any other Apple ID, they can create one.
Customers who want to try the beta software should back up their iPhones before installing the beta software. It is recommended to install the beta software only on non-production devices that are not business-critical. Users can also provide feedback to Apple on quality and usability, which helps Apple identify issues, fix them, and make Apple software even better.
The iOS beta comes with the built-in Feedback Assistant app, which can be opened from the Home screen on the iPhone or iPad or from the Dock on the Mac.
Source: Press Trust of India
5g
Nokia wins multi-year deal with Reliance Jio India to build one of the largest 5G networks in the world
NEW DELHI: Nokia has announced that it has been selected as a major supplier by Reliance Jio to supply 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) equipment from its comprehensive AirScale portfolio countrywide in a multi-year deal. Reliance Jio is India’s number one mobile operator and has one of the largest RAN footprints in the world.
Under the contract, Nokia will supply equipment from its AirScale portfolio, including base stations, high-capacity 5G Massive MIMO antennas, and Remote Radio Heads (RRH) to support different spectrum bands, and self-organizing network software. Reliance Jio plans to deploy a 5G standalone network which will interwork with its 4G network. The network will enable Reliance Jio to deliver advanced 5G services such as massive machine-to-machine communications, network slicing, and ultra-low-latency.
Akash Ambani, Chairman Reliance Jio, commented: “We are pleased to be working with Nokia for our 5G SA deployment in India. Jio is committed to continuously investing in the latest network technologies to enhance the experience of all of its customers. We are confident that our partnership with Nokia will deliver one of the most advanced 5G networks globally.”
Pekka Lundmark, President and CEO at Nokia stated: “This is a significant win for Nokia in an important market and a new customer with one of the largest RAN footprints in the world. This ambitious project will introduce millions of people across India to premium 5G services, enabled by our industry-leading AirScale portfolio. We are proud that Reliance Jio has placed its trust in our technology and we look forward to a long and productive partnership with them.”
Nokia has a long-standing presence in India. This new deal will mean that Nokia is now supplying India’s three largest mobile operators.
