The File - Dec 1, 2008 - (Page 1)

India’s fortnightly focus on electronics design December 1-15, 2008 Innovations advance mobile VoIP By Rama Rao Sreeramaneni Co-founder, VP and GM Hellosoft India Pvt Ltd Voice over IP (VoIP) is seen as the next disruptive technology to significantly impact the communications industry. Increased adoption of VoIP has led operators globally to rethink their business models. While regulations were limiting the usage of VoIP in India, the recent development of TRAI easing VoIP regulations has opened up immense opportunities for operators, ISP’s and consumers alike. VoIP will certainly bring respite to the fixed operators from the bane of fixedmobile substitution. Pure VoIP operators will drive the uptake of VoIP, and so will cable operators as a part of their triple-play strategy. Mobile operators are likely to make strategic investments and alliances in order to capture a share of VoIP revenues. As strategies unfold and winners are announced, the consumer will be the guaranteed victor—enjoying reduced call rates and improved in-building coverage. Sreeramaneni: Technology innovations have solved the inhibitors of VoIP adoption. According to Ovum, 30 per cent of mobile calls originate from indoor locations. Fixed operators, cable operators and ISPs will look to transfer this traffic to their network. They stand to attract significant MoU by adding VoIP to their service portfolio and hence address the last-mile coverage issue. Fixed carriers are increasingly adopting fibre to the home (FTTH). BSNL and Bharti Airtel have announced their plans to deploy PON/GPON in hundreds of cities. Once the copper local loop is cut and the proliferation of broadband follows, VoIP-enabled residential gateways will certainly give impetus to VoIP adoption. IPTV deployments to address the video needs of fixed subscribers have already started and will only increase with time. To counter, cable operators will complement their video and data offerings with VoIP bundling. In all scenarios, consumers will benefit from the triple-play strategies in the form of cost-efficiency and better coverage of voice service, and the convenience of paying a single bill for all their voice, data and video needs. A whole range of end-devices is available to extend VoIP offerings, e.g. a traditional phone plugged into an analogue telephony adapter (ATA) as deployed by MTNL is a gentle way to roll out the service. Sooner than later, we will also witness quadruple play as Wi-Fi gets integrated into set-top boxes and residential gateways. Affordable single-mode (VoWiFi) and dual-mode (cellular/Wi-Fi) handsets will enable operators continued on page WiMAX boosts India broadband market By Sunil Kumar Marketing Director Beceem Communications, Inc. Inside Trends 4 WiMAX goes beyond mobile devices With over 110 crore (1.1 billion) people, India represents an enormous opportunity for growth in various industries. This can be seen in wireless mobile services with almost 80 lakh (8 million) new connections a month, even though penetration is still shy of 26 per cent. The success of mobile phone adoption is due to lower tariffs, ease of use and the low cost of devices. There is also an opportunity in the broadband market that is yet to be addressed. Only 0.5 per cent of households are connected and the Indian market wants to access the Internet more, but has no means to do so. A strong business case can therefore be made—the integration of broadband in mobile devices would address the entire spectrum of connectivity needs. The challenge and opportunity now is to enable broadband in a new breed of devices to drive its adoption in a country where laptops are considered a luxury. Compared to cell phones, laptops and PCs are not widely used because of ease-of-use issues. Even if PC makers can solve this, the PC may still represent a device that one takes to work for work rather than a device for everyday, personal use. There is no doubt that eventually, broadband Netbooks, laptops and PCs will see a surge in demand. However, mass-market continued on page In focus 5 6 Mobile handsets integrate WLAN Meet WiMAX power amp challenges Events 9 NGSA - 08, Energy INDIA, ICDCIT 2008, REA-2008, ICON 2008, ICPCM 2008 Sponsors 2 National Semiconductor www.eetindia.com http://www.eetindia.co.in/SEARCH/SUMMARY/technical-articles/DATE/VoIP.HTM?ClickFromNewsletter_081201 http://www.eetindia.co.in/SEARCH/SUMMARY/technical-articles/broadband.HTM?ClickFromNewsletter_081201 http://www.eetindia.co.in/STATIC/REDIRECT/Newsletter_081201_GS01.htm?ClickFromNewsletter_081201 http://www.eetindia.co.in/STATIC/REDIRECT/Newsletter_081201_EETI02.htm?ClickFromNewsletter_081201

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The File - Dec 1, 2008

EETimes India - December 1, 2008
Contents
National Semiconductor
WiMAX Goes Beyond Mobile Devices
Mobile Handsets Integrate WLAN
Meet WiMAX Power Amp Challenges
NGSA - 08, Energy INDIA, ICDCIT 2008, REA-2008, ICON 2008, ICPCM 2008

The File - Dec 1, 2008