Bharti Airtel says 4G will take some time to surpass 3G technology: Abhay Savargaonkar, chief technology officer
Third generation (3G) technology will continue to be the mainstay for both data and voice services for Bharti Airtel, which recently announced Project Leap, a Rs 60,000 crore investment programme to improve network quality over three years. In an interview to Danish Khan, Abhay Savargaonkar, chief technology officer at India’s No. 1 telco, said that while consumers in India need a good 3G network, 2G will be around for the next five to seven years. Edited excerpts:
Will 4G surpass 3G in terms of data uptake?
On volumes, 4G may come up very well. Given the ecosystem of 4G, it will take some time to surpass 3G. 3G ecosystem is not going to slow down, and will continue. Another big advantage with 3G is voice, which 4G or LTE doesn’t support. VoLTE (Voice over LTE) will take its own time to mature and has its own challenges currently. Till that happens, all investments are going into voice via 2G and 3G technologies.
Do you think 2G will become obsolete in the coming years?
Absolutely no. There are two distinct classes in India – one which has smartphones (about 45 per cent), but then 55 per cent of users are still on that Rs 1,100 handset… There’s a big need and that’s not going away in near five to seven years. 2G is bound to stay.
What is going to be the biggest data driver in India?
Worldwide, video is the biggest driver for mass consumption. India is slightly less currently because users haven’t seen data. They are starting to explore. Currently, their basic needs are apps, social media, WhatsApp, Facebook and ecommerce. That’s how it starts and keeps on building.
What has been the impact of OTT (over-the-top) players on telcos? OTT or the app phenomenon has really helped shape the Internet world differently. If apps weren’t there, it would have been difficult for people to access data and find out what they actually want. Without OTT, Internet won’t grow that fast and that’s the known fact. And, if Internet doesn’t grow, what will these highways that we created do? It’s mutual. Most of the competition is related to one thing, which is voice. Other than this, I don’t think there’s serious competition.
Has Airtel given new equipment contracts to support Project Leap?
The expansion under Project Leap will be served by the ongoing network contracts with equipment vendors. We do two or three year contracts with vendors with an anticipated number, which can go high or remain low depending upon the requirement. We keep renewing the contracts from time to time.
How are you dealing with Alcatel-Lucent becoming part of Nokia?
Alcatel Lucent will continue to support us the way they were doing. A lot of our optical network actually is from Alcatel Lucent. We don’t see any challenge on that front. Nokia is any which way a very big partner of Airtel.
Nokia doesn’t have IP and optical part and Alcatel Lucent becomes complementary to them. Instead of Alcatel Lucent-branded solutions, we will get Nokia-branded solutions.
Read full article: Economic Times
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