V K Agarwal Dy. Advisor (Converged Network) Telecom Regulatory Authority of India 1
Mar 27, 2015
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
0
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Subs
crib
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Internet & Broadband Subscribers Growth
InternetBroadband
India : Broadband PotentialTarget & Forecast
Year Target of Broadband
Status
2007 09 Million 2.34 million
2010 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 Million
2012 241 Million 20% 48 Million
2014 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 accessBroadband 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 Requirement
Broadband 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 BW
E-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 streaming
IPTV
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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