As per a report by ASSOCHAM, WiMAX broadband subscribers in India will outnumber 3G subscribers by 2014. As per the report, there will be 20 million 3G-based broadband subscribers by 2014 as opposed to 60 million WiMax users.
The rationale behind these numbers is the availability of 20 MHz spectrum per operator and the expected lower price of WiMAX based devices (WiMAX data card is expected to be available for as little as $40
, compared to $80 for 3G).
The report misses couple of points – for instance, lack of PC penetration that impacts the usage of BWA (Broadband Wireless Access).
ASSOCHAM, quite lately has been courting controversy over it’s reports and couple of industry leaders have slammed this report.
- Telecom Commission has also proposed to increase the base price for WiMax spectrum auction (base price which was at 25% of the reserve price for 3G, is to be increased to 50%)
- Operators interested to bid for WiMax spectrum will have to offer a minimum of Rs 1,010 crore for a pan-Indian licence compared to Rs 2,020 crore for 3G players.
- Tata Telecom, Reliance and BSNL are most prepared for WiMAX implementation.
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