The importance of BWA to India

(Tony Worthington is the Global Head for Telecoms, Media & Technology at Standard Chartered Bank. The opinions expressed are his own)

3G fever continues to grip India and it looks like we will finally get the auction away before the end of 2009.

Whereas 3G gets all the headlines it is the Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) auction which could be of more significance to the Indian telecoms industry and indeed the economy and education system in the long term.

There are essentially three methods by which a broadband subscriber will be able to access the internet in India from 2010.

Firstly by their fixed copper or fibre-optic connection. Standard Chartered is forecasting relatively flat growth in this segment and so we anticipate growth via other methods.

Secondly connectivity will be possible via mobile broadband, or 3G, technology. This access method is very important in many markets in Asia and Africa where the fixed-line infrastructure is relatively poor.

Thirdly subscribers will be able to connect via BWA or, to use the international jargon, WiMAX. This is wireless (not mobile) broadband access technology whereby the subscriber connects via a wireless connection to a fixed access point.

With access speeds becoming faster and faster, BWA or WiMAX is becoming an increasingly important factor in international telecoms.