Bharti Airtel is deploying Free-Space Optical Communications (FSOC) technology to overcome the challenges posed by conventional fibre and microwave technologies. The company has rolled out FSOC in four Indian states, primarily focusing on mobile backhaul applications.
To facilitate this, Airtel has collaborated with Taara, a division of Alphabet’s X moonshot project, to introduce wireless optical communication (WOC) products in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.
The deployment conditions have varied significantly across these states, presenting obstacles such as high Right of Way (RoW) costs, monsoon seasons that restrict construction timelines in Mumbai, and delays in obtaining permissions due to extensive construction activities in densely populated areas like Kerala. In these scenarios, Taara’s WOC technology provided a viable alternative, allowing Airtel to swiftly establish radio access network (RAN) sites and enhance coverage. Furthermore, Airtel utilised Taara’s Link Availability Prediction Tool, which leverages multi-year weather and visibility data to forecast WOC link availability, thereby optimising deployment strategies.
