The Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) has licensed the Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) technology it has been developing for the past few years to seven local companies, with an eighth about to agree a Transfer of Technology (ToT) agreement.
The seven companies -- a mix of state-owned and privately-held companies -- that have taken C-DOT's GPON technology are: ITI Ltd.; Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL); VMC Systems Ltd.; Sai Infosystems Ltd.; SM Creative (SM Creative Electronics); United Telecoms Ltd. (UTL); and Tejas Networks India Ltd., which will receive a "customized development" from C-DOT. In addition, Electronics Corporation of India Ltd. (ECIL) is close to agreeing a deal with C-DOT.
The terms of the ToT agreements signed between C-DOT and the vendors has not been revealed.
The move is part of the Government's push to encourage the local manufacturing of telecom equipment and also to promote the deployment of fiber-based broadband access technology in India: GPON is a well-established standards-based technology used in fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) and fiber-to-the-building (FTTB) deployments that enables broadband speeds of up to 2.5 Gbit/s downstream and 1.25 Gbit/s upstream and so is very suitable for the delivery of high quality voice, data and video services. Many of India's current broadband connections are DSL broadband lines that, once deployed, enable downstream speeds of less than 10 Mbit/s, although the theoretical speeds are up to 24 Mbit/s.
"This is a positive step and will provide an advanced infrastructure set-up that could give further fillip to the technology manufacturing within our country," says Ashok Aggarwal, Director General, Telecom Equipment Manufacturing Association (TEMA).
Aggarwal, however, adds that it's imperative for the Government to allocate the proper funds needed to enable a viable business case for the manufacture and deployment of GPON technology in telecom networks. "While this is certainly a feel good move for indigenous manufacturers, we need to understand that the time is too short to meet our broadband targets and hence it's crucial to take the further steps that could speed-up the process. We are in the process of identifying what resources will be required and will soon put our case forward to the ministry," adds Aggarwal.
C-DOT's GPON technology
C-DOT, which is the research and development (R&D) arm of the Department of Telecommunications, has developed GPON technology that is housed in the network operator's local exchange (known as the optical line terminal, or OLT) and GPON technology for the receiving, customer premises equipment (CPE) placed in the customer's home or office (known as optical network terminal/unit, or ONT/ONU).
Optical fiber runs between the OLT and multiple ONTs in a point-to-multipoint network topography that is enabled by a splitter that sits between the OLT and ONTs. See this diagram for further details.
C-DOT's GPON technology has already been put through its paces by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL), which has used it in a broadband network rollout at Ajmer, Rajasthan.
The Government wants to encourage GPON deployments to help boost broadband penetration, which is still very low at just 12.84 million, according to the latest statistics. (See India Reaches 900 Million Lines.)
The Government also believes that GPON technology can play a role in major national programs such as NOFN (National Optical Fiber Network), SWAN (State-Wide-Area Network) connectivity, and enable broadband connectivity in rural areas, as well as meeting the needs of expansion needs of defense and railway communications networks.
Jatinder Singh, Principal Correspondent, Light Reading India
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