The Shift From SDH

Within a few years' time it's likely that the backhaul, metro and long-distance transport networks of India's telecom network operators will be almost unrecognizable to those familiar with the SDH-based networks built to handle large volumes of TDM voice traffic.

The growing boom in data traffic, started by the introduction of IP-based enterprise services, fixed broadband and 3G services, has been the catalyst for a major sea-change in the transport strategies for India's telcos, as was noted at the recent Next Generation Packet Transport Networks conference organized by Light Reading India.

• The Shift From Voice to Data
  
• Operators Seek Soft Option for Capacity Needs
  
• Airtel Puts Its NGN Into Action

And in the next couple of years, data volumes in India's networks could rise dramatically if the BWA (Broadband Wireless Access) service providers successfully introduce their services and with still such a low broadband penetration in India it seems obvious there would be pent-up demand for data service connectivity coupled with affordable devices.

As Tonse Telecom analyst Arvind Nagasayanam noted in India Gears Up for an Optical Transport Network Boom, his recent report for the Heavy Reading Insider series of reports (Tonse and Heavy Reading are partners), there's now a real mix in India's networks as the operators try to migrate towards networks that can carry their voice, data and video traffic. Some carriers have already explored the adoption of Carrier Ethernet and OTN (Optical Transport Network)-based metro systems, while packet-optical systems are exciting a lot of interest. (See India Needs to Clear Its Data Bottleneck and P-OTS to Make a Big Noise in India, Heavy Reading Finds.)

Nagasayanam notes that Carrier Ethernet is set to become the de facto technology in mobile backhaul (where microwave links with limited capacity currently prevail) and metro aggregation networks, though some operators are deploying this as a separate network rather than a replacement for their existing next-gen SDH systems (at least for now).

In the long-haul networks, DWDM is the technology of choice, with 40Gbit/s and even 100Gbit/s set to be used in the future to cope with the most traffic-heavy routes, though investment in 100Gbit/s systems will likely come later rather than sooner and will be very much on a "case by case basis," notes the analyst. (See 100G Transport: Ready and Able.)

Where investment is happening right now, though, is in technology, which enables the more efficient provisioning of new lightpaths. (For much more on the new generation of ROADM technologies, check out .)

Nagasayanam writes: "Indian telcos are transforming their optical network from linear/ring to mesh with multi degree connectivity. With more degrees of freedom, ROADM is becoming essential in the core network, reducing capex. Although the adoption of ROADM by Indian telcos is a recent trend, in many of the new core networks ROADM has become the default building block since it enables setting a new light path without sending a technician to the site."

The analyst adds: "Service providers will combine ROADM and OTN intelligently in hybrid configurations to right size their switching requirements in the core."

There are many options available to India's transport network operators, and the presentations and conversations at the recent conference highlighted that while the carriers are adopting some of the latest technologies to meet their data traffic management needs there is still a lack of unanimity on the best, and most cost-effective, way forward for the sector.

What's clear, though, is that India's operators will be investing in new transport technologies in the coming years, from the backhaul, through the network and into the core if they don't they'll find their networks likely unable to cope with the growing demands of data and video traffic and that in turn would lead to poor customer service, lost revenues and the inability to innovate in terms of network management and service creation.

That scenario spells good news for the vendors with leading edge optical, packet-optical and Carrier Ethernet technology portfolios, including Alcatel-Lucent, Ciena Corp., Cisco Systems Inc., ECI Telecom Ltd., Juniper Networks Inc.,Nokia Siemens Networks, Tejas Networks India Ltd. and ZTE Corp., as well as Carrier Ethernet specialists that are investing in India to capture the upcoming opportunities, such as Orckit Communications Ltd. (See Orckit: India Is Our Growth Engine.)

But as with any vertical in India's telco market, the competition for business will be intense and the vendors will need to go the extra mile with their propositions to be successful.

Ray Le Maistre, International Managing Editor, Light Reading

India Gears Up for an Optical Transport Network Boom, a 15-page report, is available as part of an annual subscription (12 monthly issues) to Heavy Reading Insider, priced at $1,595. This report is available for $900. To subscribe, please visit: www.heavyreading.com/insider.