The 2011 GSMA congress focused on 4G, Android, and long-term evolution (LTE) technology, which promises to offer high-speed broadband and a bevy of new applications. The conclave also focused on the need for more spectrum, a key issue for India. Regulators also debated whether governments if sell spectrum to the highest bidder through an auction process, which countries like India now follow, or should the spread of wireless internet to the masses, rather than maximisation of revenue for governments, be the goal.
Google CEO Eric Schmidt said the next range of new applications will happen through of high-speed internet, through 3G and 4G networks. He said the Android application store already has 150,000 applications, and the numbers have doubled in the last nine months. However, others like Vodafone Essar CEO Marten Peters say that the days of killer applications are over, and those developing applications are doing so for the various needs of consumers.
Other focus areas of the GSMA were applications to drive financial services, mobile publishing and content and ways to monetise services through advertising. “The challenge for advertisers is to address this unique nature of mobile advertising, where ads have to be made to address to the personalised need of the individual,” said Eric Schmidt.
However, telecom companies made it clear that data usage will grow over a thousand times in the next 10 years and most countries will require additional spectrum to meet this demand. Bharti Airtel CEO Sanjay Kapoor said, “Every country, including India, will need huge amounts of spectrum to make this revolution happen. The message is clear from GSMA that virtual infrastructure, which means spectrum, will be as important as having a physical infrastructure in place, otherwise we will be left behind. Each country will require 200-500 MHz of additional spectrum”.
However, while LTE networks have started on a commercial basis in various countries across the world, the good news to consumers is that devices like smart phones will already be available in the next few months and dongle prices for operators providing the services have already become affordable. US-based Verizon offers 4G LTE services in various parts of the country at download speeds of 5-12 Mbps. Verizon executives say while much higher speeds are available, based on the subscriber base covered, this is what they are promising their customers.
Deepak Chadage, senior engineer (product development) in the company’s LTE innovation centre, says, “We are already offering dongles which are available at an affordable price of $50 for 5-Mbps speeds. Motorola has already come out with LTE smartphones, which can operate in both 4G and 3G networks. Currently, voice is offered on 3G networks, but eventually, we will offer voice over the net to customers.” Chadage says that 4G, with its high speed, has many differences, as the latency is low. It is possible to have live games as well as live TV on the screens. He points out that currently, TV programing on 3G does not have the same clarity as that on a TV screen, but this problem will be resolved with 4G. Verizon, of course, offers a number of lessons, as it is one of the first companies to have launched 4G services commercially.
Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman of the Bharti group, has already formed an alliance with China Mobile, Qualcomm and Softbank to to brace up for a 4G revolution in India, and this may begin by the end of this year. Mittal says since India and China account for 2.5 billion LTE customers, this forum will be able to influence standards for the new technology and address price concerns, the key to success in these two markets.
However, from a regulatory perspective, the debate on whether the government should auction spectrum or find other means to give it to operators so that wireless internet helps in nation building and economic growth, is still raging. Trai Chairman Sarma said, “The debate on whether spectrum should be auctioned continued again in this GSMA as well, and there were no clear answers. Some are of the view that spectrum should be treated as a resource for public good and not for maximisation of revnue.”
Sarma also said that there are new challenges before regulators, and with internet and the telecom sector converging, there will be new regulatory concerns, which will have to be tackled.
