Idea Sets Sight On 3G Uptake

The growing impetus on value-added services and new subscriber plans have brought positive results for Idea Cellular Ltd. The company claims that its subscriber data usage has grown by 3.5 times in FY 2012 compared to the previous fiscal, and it soon hopes to achieve a significant increase in its 3G data usage.

"By the end of June 2012, the 3G data usage of our subscribers will exceed the 2G data usage," reveals Anil Tandan, CTO, Idea Cellular. (See Mobile Broadband To Surpass $10 Bn: Idea and Idea Launches Unlimited Data Plans.)

The company recently reduced its 3G tariffs in a bid to increase the 3G adoption in the subscribers. (See Idea Slashes 3G Tariff.)

Briefing about mobile backhaul upgradation at Light Reading Indias Mobile Broadband Summit in Mumbai, Tandan said that all towns where Idea has a 3G network presence run on IP radio technology and that by the end of 2012, the company will have a minimum of 25 Mbps backhaul capacity in at least 10 cities. (See Bharti Benefits from Backhaul Focus.)

The country's fourth-largest operator claims to have deployed a Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) product portfolio in its network. The DWDM technology enables multiplexing of bands (typically 40-80 channels) spaced at 100 GHz or 50 GHz, which enhances the capacity and reduces the overall networking costs.

Tandan shared that the company has already built its own ISP to provide broadband and WiFi services instead of tying up with the existing ones.

Rimit Singh, Correspondent, Light Reading India