V K Agarwal Dy. Advisor (Converged Network)

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

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Importance of Broadband• Broadband provides access to enormous information and

knowledge bank / resources.

• Provides a platform for communication and advance applications like Internet Telephony, e-governance, e-education, e-health, e-commerce etc.

• Boost employment opportunities and IT proliferation. Able to create entrepreneurship even in rural and remote areas.

• Saving in national resources by providing the opportunity to work from home through tele-conferencing & virtual office and reduce need for long distance travel.

• World bank study indicates that there is 1.38 % increase in GDP for every 10% increase in broadband penetration.

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Broadband impact on Economy

3Source: World Bank

• World bank study indicates that there is 1.38 % increase in GDP for every 10% increase in broadband penetration.

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India: Present Telecom Scenario

India is undergoing wireless revolution

• Fastest Monthly subscriber addition in world > 16 million

• 10-12 competing operators in over 8000 cities & towns

• Very competitive tariff

Broadband is lagging behind

• Number of projected Internet users is more than 72 million, still Broadband subscriber connection is just 9.45 Million

• Monthly addition – 0.1-0.2 million

• Broadband penetration in rural areas is just 5% as compared to 31% in case of mobile telephony

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India: Internet & Broadband Growth

5.45 5.556.94

9.211.09

13.54

16.18

0.05 0.1831.35

2.33.87

6.22

8.77

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Internet & Broadband Subscribers Growth

InternetBroadband

India : Broadband PotentialTarget & Forecast

Year Target of Broadband

Status

2007 09 Million 2.34 million2010 20 Million 9.45 million*

Year No of Households

% of Households

to be covered for

broadband

Number of Broadband Subscribers

2010 236 Million 10% 23 Million2012 241 Million 20% 48 Million2014 250 Million 40% 100 Million

Government Target

Desirable Target

*status as on 30th June 10

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21/11/2008 T R A I 7

Broadband GrowthCritical Factors

CPE CARRIAGE

CONTENT

3C Diagram : The growth of Internet & Broadband depends on 3Cs

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Broadband Growth Challenges

Availability of suitable network Access Network

Core Network

Definition of Broadband

Affordability of Broadband

Right of Way

Customer premises equipment

Content

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•Access Network

• Presently available Broadband access technologies

DSL/ ADSL over Copper loop

Wireless

Cable TV network

Satellite

Fiber

Broadband Growth challenges (contd.)

Broadband Growth challenges (contd.)

Copper loop (in Access Network)

Total number of Wire line connections- 36.96 Million

Broadband connections over DSL – 6.19 Million (Mar 10)

Challenges• Limited Availability

• Maximum 15 million Broadband connections can be provided

with existing 24 Million copper loop (~60%) in urban areas.

• Maximum 4 million Broadband connections can be provided

with existing 16 Million copper loop (~25%) in rural areas.

• The growth in Copper network is dismal.

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Broadband Growth- challenges (contd.)

Wireless (in Access Network) It is an effective solution for increasing Broadband penetration Broadband on wireless may soon contribute much more than

wireline

Challenges• Limited Capacity to support bandwidth requirement in

access network.

• High cost of handsets

• Even with most optimistic projections, wireless cannot

support huge bandwidth requirement of core Network.

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Broadband Growth-challenges (contd.)

Cable TV Network

Total number of Cable TV subscribers - 82 Million

Broadband connections over cable TV – 4.19 Million (Mar 10)

Challenges Capability of last mile in cable Network to support Broadband (<

10% last mile of cable network is suitable at present)

High upgradation cost of cable TV network to support broadband.

Commensurate returns on investment for upgradation of cable

network considering present Broadband tariff.

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Broadband Growth- challenges (contd.)

Satellite Suitable to provide broadband for inaccessible and remote areas

Challenges: Limited Availability of satellites transponders. Cost of providing Broadband connection using satellite

media is high. Limited Bandwidth support. Transponder of 36 MHz can

provide uplink bandwidth upto 64 kbps and downlink bandwidth upto 2 Mbps.

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Broadband Growth- challenges (contd.)

Optical Fibre in access Broadband connections on optical fibre- 0.32 million

(Mar’10) Available mainly in long distance network ( > 0.7 Million

route Kms) Challenges:

Limited availability of fiber to the curb or house (FTTx). High Cost of Right of Way (RoW ) Cost of hiring optical fiber in local access networks is

high. Emergence of New Wireless Technologies, hence no

clear business model.

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Broadband GrowthPresent applications and Future Bandwidth RequirementBroadband is used for various

applications like E-Mail, Education, Entertainment, Chat & E-commerce.

Bandwidth hungry applications like video streaming, video on demand, online gaming will increase the bandwidth demand 66 times from 2008 to 2013 as per CISCO Visual Networking Index (VNI).

In rural areas e-governance , e-health, e-education, e-agriculture applications will require huge bandwidth, as bandwidth requirement is inversely proportional to literacy level.

Purpose of Broadband %

E-Mail 91%

General Information Search 76%

Educational Information Search 49%

Text Chat 46%

Online Gaming 41%

Online Jobsites 37%

Music/ Video on Internet 32%

Financial Information Search 21%

Book railway ticket on Internet 21%

Online Banking 20%

Online NEWS 13%

Internet Telephony/ Video chat 13%

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Bandwidth Requirement for Individual user

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Application BWE-mail 64 kbps

Chatting with video 256 kbps

Video Clips 256 kbps

Video Streaming 2 Mbps

Application BW

Video on Demand3-4 Mbps*Online Gaming

Video streamingIPTV

Present Scenario

*Bandwidth required per connection may be higher due to simultaneous usage of various applications.

Scenario 2012

Core Network Bandwidth Requirement Forecast

Year No of Households

Forecast Contention Ratio (1:50)

Core Bandwidth Requirement (@3mbps per user)

2010 236 Millions 23 Million ~0.5 Million 1500 Gb

2012 241 Millions 48 Million ~1.0 Million 3000 Gb

2014 250 Million 100 Million ~2.0 Million 6000 Gb

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Broadband GrowthChallenges (contd.)

Core NetworkLooking at the future bandwidth requirement Optical

fibre seems to be the suitable option for core network

Presently Optical Fibre is only available upto cities and in some cases upto block level

In order to provide broadband facilities in villages suitable connectivity is required upto village level

Creation of such a network will require huge expenditure

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National Broadband Plan

Estimated cost for covering villages with optical fibre cable

Total Number of inhabited Villages (population>500) 374552

Total single connectivity roads to villages having population more than 500

*1146000 Km

Total Optical Fibre requirement (in Kms) for connecting villages having population > 500

1146000 Km

Estimated cost of digging for OF cable laying Rs. 18565 Crore

Estimated Cost of material(OF cable, HDD pipes & end equipments)

Rs. 13730 Crore

Total estimated Cost for covering all villages (population>500) with optical fiber (excluding RoW Cost)

Rs. 32295 Crore

*As per information given by National Rural Road Develop Agency (NRRDA)

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Broadband GrowthChallenges (contd.)

Definition of Broadband Present definition mentions ‘always on’ connection with

minimum download speed of 256 kbps, which holds good for wire line

In case of wireless connection is not always on and it is difficult to maintain minimum download speed of 256 kbps

Bandwidth demand is increasing with emergence of bandwidth hungry applications

Consumer has become Prosumer - A lot of content is being uploaded by consumers (facebook, twitter, YouTube)

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BroadbandChallenges (contd.)

Affordability of Broadband Entry level tariffs are low, but cost of subsequent usage is

high (per MB download charges) Broadband prices as a percentage of Monthly Gross

National Income (GNI) per capita is high as compared to mobile tariffs

Inefficient utilisation of National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI)

Higher International bandwidth prices

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BroadbandChallenges (contd.)

Right of Way Complicated Right of Way procedures High charges RoW permissions Non uniform policies

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BroadbandChallenges (contd.)

ContentDevelopment of content in Indian vernacular

languages

Low English literacy

Killer application and perceived utility to customers

framework to resolve commercial issues between access providers and content providers

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BroadbandChallenges (contd.)

Customer Premises EquipmentHigh cost of PCs and other access devices

Alternate options like thin clients, net books

Recycling of old PCs/laptops

Bundling of PCs with broadband subscription

Fiscal incentives for reducing costs of CPEs

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India: TRAI Initiative for Broadband Growth Various recommendations to increase the growth of broadband:

Streamlining the RoW proceduresEnsure the availability of more Ku band for broadband

through DTH.Steps to reduce the internet bandwidth costs i.e. resale in

IPLC improvement in effectiveness of NIXI. Sharing of backhaul in rural areasUSO support for broadband.Making multiple dwelling units/ buildings broadband ready

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Way forwardBroadband will create opportunities for service providers,

content developers and end users leading to convergence of service delivery platforms

Advent of 3G & BWA will be decisive for takeoff of broadband growth

National Fibre Network will extend the reach of broadband to rural areas and will provide huge bandwidth to support bandwidth hungry applications.

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