Welcome To A Wirefree World

The current wireless market has few vertical integration efforts. This is

largely due to the fact that the initial investment is high. Most of the

services and infrastructures are wholly owned by a single organization. Some of

these services are horizontally integrated along the lines of billing and

network infrastructure expense sharing.

Horizontal integration needs lower initial cost and this attracts many new

players. Due to this the resulting value chain is very fragmented. Eventually,

vertical integration would take place through new players, mergers and

acquisitions.

At the same time, today it is not possible to specify time frame or approach

towards that. Mobile operators control access to key network functionality and

user information.

Mobile operators own details about user access area, authentication, billing

or SMS centers. As price competition is increasing in their core business,

operators may not be able to invest and develop more facilities demanded by the

market. That is where a capable third party associate or a solution provider can

increase their revenues and sustain the market demands.

Fragmented Changes



Today wireless data access networks in India are fragmented. Says Ramchandra,

CEO of Adino Telecom, "Wireless is the correct emerging medium for

e-governance connectivity. For this online data access to the citizens is the

key."

Backbone access across most states is readily available over fiber. So state

capitals and district headquarters can be easily



connected by the backbone infrastructure.

But at the district and taluka level, the situation is different. At this

micro-level, there are several complexities involved due frequent changes in

office locations, build-to-order connectivity needs, requirement for quick

bandwidth scalability and unpredictable implementation span.

Due to these complexities, wireless is an ideal choice to gain information.

Adino has connected 25 districts in Gujarat with point to multi-point wireless.

Hotspotting Towns



In some parts of India, Wi-Fi based networks are implemented to cover small

towns. For a small town in Maharashtra, Convergent Communications has built a

network, which connects educational institutes, dairy farms and also provides

voice connectivity in the neighboring areas. Similar few projects have been

implemented across the country.

In

the smaller towns, Wi-Fi networks can give better range and through put as

compared to metro cities, if designed properly. One of the best examples of this

is the hotspot.

Many hotels and coffee shops chains are providing hotspot facilities. And

this is a good opportunity for solution providers. But, you need to have the

business acumen to spot it and leverage on it.

Microsense, a system integrator in Chennai, is one such example that has come

up with a good business model. Part of the investment on capital equipment

infrastructure and bandwidth and running costs are born by Microsense, while the

hotel management shares the remaining.

TAKING RESIDENCE IN METROS



There are many metros where service providers like Satyam and Gateway

Systems operate in special licensed band. This band has lesser interference and

therefore offers better throughput as compared to a Wi-Fi band.

Despite this, there are many Wi-Fi point-to-point links installed for

communication up to 10 km distance in metros. And most of these are in

residential complexes.

The residential Internet access has evolved into a hybrid model. It started

by taking advantage of the existing copper or fiber links. Then, to provide

continuous connectivity, it uses wireless links to plug the interim gaps.

A solution provider can pitch in here as well to come up with a three-layer

distribution structure. He will have to monitor ISP bandwidth over Wireless or

fiber across the area. The next responsibility would be management of servers,

converters and bulk bandwidth. The last responsibility could be shared with

cable operators as it includes laying of cables, managing them and collecting

payment. This is somewhat akin to the cable guy who comes to collect your

monthly cable TV bills, while someone else manages the entire infrastructure

remotely.

MOVING ON TO CORPORATES



Corporate are the most demanding customers and have well-set parameters to

measure the level of service offered. They want to keep track of the redundancy

and response time and these are some of the criteria on which they base their

purchase decisions.

These pressures notwithstanding, this segment is one of the most lucrative

and there is immense scope for a company to provide good value-added services

here.

The avenues are limitless, when it comes to seeking opportunities in building

solutions around wireless. But what is needed is out-of-the-box lateral thinking

and the ability to stick to the promises you make to your customers. If you can

do this, then you have scored a home run.

Milind Kamath is

industry expert