Regional Asian telcos to mull broadband boost

India and South Asia's operators are in the news, with broadband launches announced by some of the most dynamic players in Asia - Indian operator Bharti Airtel has launched its 16 Mbps broadband service in India (delivered through a fibre backbone carrier ethernet network with last mile delivery on copper using ADSL2+ technology), and Reliance Communications has launched its CDMA-based mobile broadband service in Kolkata.

Pakistani wireless service provider Wi-Tribe has announced a contract for the deployment of its IP backbone, to fulfill its objective of launching WiMAX services in the country this year.

Broadband access is one of the most talked-about topics in the region as a great tool to launch new services (including high-revenue content), and to boost access to communications in under-served areas.

Accordingly, it will be a major topic of discussion at the annual India & South Asia Com, the annual telecom congress for the region's operators (GSM, CDMA, fixed-line, wireless), regulators, suppliers and all other stakeholders in the booming regional telecommunications market, scheduled for next month.

Over the two days of the congress, regional telecom leaders and industry experts are expected to discuss new investments, broadband technologies, market strategies, rural markets, content and entertainment services, cost-effective network and commercial strategies.

Among the key speakers will be Kuldeep Goyal, chairman BSNL, Sanjeev Aga, managing director, Idea Cellular, Sugato Barnge, chief marketing officer, Bharti Airtel, Anand Dalal, additional vice president, Tata Teleservices Ltd, India, Anoja Obeyesekere, CEO, Dialog Global, Sri Lanka, Sandeep Keshkar, DGM, (NSS) Mobile Services, MTNL Mumbai, Sanjeev Chachondia, director and CEO, BPL Mobile Communications, and representatives of Grameenphone, Vodafone Group, Banglalink, Reliance, Zong (China Mobile Pakistan), Virgin Mobile India amiong others.

In addition, partner association COAI is strongly supporting the event and confirming official addresses by senior representatives of India's department of telecommunications, to give updates on the latest policy decisions in the region's largest markets, and one of the world's fastest-growing.