RIL's LTE Rumor Mill

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I also think they will go for both. They are both great choices and there will be no losers in this deal. anti-aging products MollyMags

January 04, 2012
Gagandeep Sodhi
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4:30 PM -- The forthcoming launch of LTE services by countrywide BWA (Broadband Wireless Access) license-holder Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) continues to drive speculation about the company's plans. (See IndiaWatch: RIL Plans Small Cells for LTE.)

A prime reason for the amount of speculation is, of course, that the company is providing virtually no official statements on its BWA strategy, though it has chatted to Light Reading about general BWA issues in the past. (See .)

As keen observers of India's telecom industry it is not possible for us to ignore the RIL rumor mill, so here is Light Reading India's guide to the latest gossip from informed and not-so-informed sources...

RIL is planning to launch its services on Independence Day (August 15) this year. (Earlier, though, sources suggested the services would launch in December 2011, and then in early 2012...) To meet the August deadline RIL would need to decide on its technology suppliers by March at the latest, believe industry executives. (See IndiaWatch: RIL Plans LTE Launch Early Next Year.)

The suppliers are still desperately trying to win favor and that stirs the rumor pot further. The only point most of the stakeholders agree on is that RIL is conducting Phase II of its trials in Mumbai, while its Jamnagar trials are likely to begin soon. A section of the industry believes that Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. and ZTE Corp. have completed the second phase of trial, while Samsung Corp.'s trial is ongoing. In addition, Alcatel-Lucent is believed to be well positioned to provide IP transport and managed services capabilities, potentially as part of a partnership. (See RIL Prepares Phase II of LTE Trials and Rumor: RIL, Augere Pick LTE Suppliers.)

Depending on the source, RIL may have decided to focus on the enterprise segment or target retail customers. The truth is that, apart from the company's top management, very few people can conclusively confirm RIL's initial target audience.

RIL is likely to use the transport network of Reliance Communications Ltd. (on a wholesale basis) to support the rollout of its radio access network (RAN) infrastructure. (See IndiaWatch: RCom, RIL May Collaborate.)

Gagandeep Kaur, India Editor, Light Reading

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