With offices in over 35 countries, ADC Krone provides the network infrastructure equipment needed to deliver voice, video, internet and data communications. On a recent visit to India, Dr Michael Day, chief technology officer, ADC, spoke to tele.net about the key technology trends, the Indian telecom market and ADC Krone`s key thrust areas. Excerpts…
What are the key global technology trends?
At the fundamental level, there are silicon, optical and IP technologies. Digital RF is another emerging technology. Each of these delivers a lot of flexibility.
Which of these are most relevant to India?
I think IP is very relevant to India. There is a lot of expertise in IP technology.Silicon technology is also highly relevant to India as it enables cellphones and high capacity networks. Digital RF is another important emerging technology.
Which technologies are most suitable to push broadband growth and rural connectivity?
It is imperative to use a combination of technologies to maximise the sharing of the last component of the network, the antennas, the RF, the backhaul and the capacity of the specialised towers. Moreover, considering there are 44 million wireline subscribers, we should look at delivering broadband over copper using DSL. This obviously means that the quality of copper needs to be upgraded at marginal investment. This can be done by bringing in DSLAM equipment. Additions in terms of splitters in the network, which split the data and voice traffic, can also be used.
The other technology that is important for broadband is Wi-Max ?? if not for mobility, certainly for the backhaul because it is capable of delivering IP. However, the appropriate frequency on which the technology operates from an Indian perspective is critical. Wi-Max has some important strengths. It is a point-to-multipoint technology, has robust orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) coding and a native IP protocol. One of the strengths that the backhaul version of the technology has is that it has been deployed in its prestandard form and this has allowed users to get a lot of experience with point-to-multipoint and OFDM as these are complicated and require some experience. However, it is still too early to use Wi-Max for mobility since the mobility version of the standard has been recently finalised. It is important not to confuse the mobility version with the backhaul version and to recognise that the backhaul has been standardised long enough to consider realistic deployments.
What is your view of the Indian telecom industry? How do you perceive the market from an equipment manufacturer’s point of view?
The growth in the Indian telecom market is the highest in the world and creates demand for technological breakthroughs, which sustain growth and business opportunities. The market is growing rapidly and there is tremendous entrepreneurial energy.The willingness of private carriers to invest is high and the business models are flexible.The telecom sector is also being viewed as the most important from the public policy and regulatory perspective.
Which segments will do well in 2007?
Traditional wireline from a PSTN perspective is completely out. While mobility remains exciting, we should not forget the enterprise sector because of the economic growth and vigorous commercial development that has been going on. We have a lot of opportunity in cabling products. I would probably say wireless first, followed by structured cabling and enterprise and wireline inasmuch as it develops broadband.
Where does India stand vis-? -vis the other Southeast Asian countries in terms of technology adoption?
When we look at technology adoption in wireless, this is one of the most rapidly growing markets. It may not have the penetration we find in places like Singapore and Hong Kong but then, that is because it has started evolving more recently. It is important to operate in multiple markets in Southeast Asia. Our strategic thrust will be to invest in India, China and other markets.
What are ADC Krone’s key thrust areas?
We will use broadband and fibre to the ground as entry points in the emerging markets in South Asia. Wireless, of course, continues to be very important.In this part of the world, our focus will primarily be on geographical expansion and the development of next-generation wireless products. This year, we will drive our wireless solutions, especially the technologies that support sharing of the active part of the infrastructure, into the market. We will focus on delivering costeffective technologies that are a combination of RF, silicon and software, and ensure active infrastructure sharing among service providers.
On the enterprise side, we will focus on data centres for which India is becoming an important market. We will add an intelligent physical layer management solution, which is a software that allows the systems administrator to manage, move and change the network and its uses in a remote fashion so that it becomes flexible at all times.
What issues need to be addressed in the Indian telecom industry?
There are regulatory and technology issues as we move towards increased broadband and rural penetration. Although the problems have reduced considerably, issues need to be resolved speedily. Having said that, policy-makers are extremely sensitive to market demands today. This augurs well for the telecom industry.
