Mukesh Godha
4G services, the next generation of mobile telephony, may hit the country next year.
While some telecom operators in the country have already been carrying out trials for the launch ofthe next generation of mobile services, the process got an additional impetus yesterday with the telecom sector regulator, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), releasing a consultation paper to usher in the next era of high-speedwireless services.
The last date for written comments on this consultation paper is September 20 and September 27 for counter-comments.
Besides, unlike the shortage of spectrum for the launch of 3G services which led to a delay in its launch, the spectrum for the launch of 4G services is readily available and can be auctioned, as was the case with the 3G spectrum.
Releasing the paper, the TRAI said, "As third generation (3G) systems are being deployed in India, many operators in developed countries are focusing on deploying further advanced system networks called IMT-Advanced to cater to the growing requirement of data, speed and content delivery."
On February 10, 2010, TRAI had issued a pre-consultation paper on this subject for seeking stakeholder comments.Key issues raised in the consultation paper were suitable spectrum bands, block size of spectrum tobe auctioned, maximum spectrum permitted to bidder, eligibility criteria for bidding, roll-out obligations, spectrum usage charges, quality of service parameters and security issues among others.
International Mobile Telecommunications - Advanced (IMT-Advanced) systems are 4G mobile technologies that include improved performance capabilities that go beyond those of IMT-2000 (3G).
According to the International Telecommunication Union, the apex global body for telecom-related subjects, the targeted peak data transfer speed for IMT-Advance technology will be up to 100 Megabit per second for high mobility and 1 Gigabit per second for low mobility.
This means that 4G technology will offer many advancements to the wireless market, including downlink data rates well over 100 Mbps, low latency, very efficient spectrum use and low-cost implementation. At least 40 MHz is required for successful operation of 4G technology. The 4G technology roll will put India among the select group of countries which offer this technology, even though the country remains a very late entrant into the third generation 3G technology.
For the record, by 2007 as many as 190 3G networks were available across 40 countries after the technology first came to be used by Japan and South Korea.
Incidentally, some telecom operators in the country purposely stayed out of the 3G auction last year, which fetched the government exchequer over Rs 66,000 crore, as they had the knowledge of 4G technology coming soon and thought it wise to be part of the latest technology which would be much faster than the 3G technology
While some telecom operators in the country have already been carrying out trials for the launch ofthe next generation of mobile services, the process got an additional impetus yesterday with the telecom sector regulator, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), releasing a consultation paper to usher in the next era of high-speedwireless services.
The last date for written comments on this consultation paper is September 20 and September 27 for counter-comments.
Besides, unlike the shortage of spectrum for the launch of 3G services which led to a delay in its launch, the spectrum for the launch of 4G services is readily available and can be auctioned, as was the case with the 3G spectrum.
Releasing the paper, the TRAI said, "As third generation (3G) systems are being deployed in India, many operators in developed countries are focusing on deploying further advanced system networks called IMT-Advanced to cater to the growing requirement of data, speed and content delivery."
On February 10, 2010, TRAI had issued a pre-consultation paper on this subject for seeking stakeholder comments.Key issues raised in the consultation paper were suitable spectrum bands, block size of spectrum tobe auctioned, maximum spectrum permitted to bidder, eligibility criteria for bidding, roll-out obligations, spectrum usage charges, quality of service parameters and security issues among others.
International Mobile Telecommunications - Advanced (IMT-Advanced) systems are 4G mobile technologies that include improved performance capabilities that go beyond those of IMT-2000 (3G).
According to the International Telecommunication Union, the apex global body for telecom-related subjects, the targeted peak data transfer speed for IMT-Advance technology will be up to 100 Megabit per second for high mobility and 1 Gigabit per second for low mobility.
This means that 4G technology will offer many advancements to the wireless market, including downlink data rates well over 100 Mbps, low latency, very efficient spectrum use and low-cost implementation. At least 40 MHz is required for successful operation of 4G technology. The 4G technology roll will put India among the select group of countries which offer this technology, even though the country remains a very late entrant into the third generation 3G technology.
For the record, by 2007 as many as 190 3G networks were available across 40 countries after the technology first came to be used by Japan and South Korea.
Incidentally, some telecom operators in the country purposely stayed out of the 3G auction last year, which fetched the government exchequer over Rs 66,000 crore, as they had the knowledge of 4G technology coming soon and thought it wise to be part of the latest technology which would be much faster than the 3G technology
