Thanks to the corDECT wireless in local loop (WLL) system deployed at the Commsphere 2000 conference venue, overseas/outstation speakers and delegates were able to keep themselves abreast of what was happening back home.
For many who had read about the corDECT system, this was a first hand experience in interacting with it. "Seeing is believing. And that is why we decided to install about five systems here," remarked one of the officials. The interesting aspect of this WLL technology is that after getting connected to the web via traditional dial-up mode, the phone line remains free to make/receive calls.
A user gets a dedicated line with a speed of 70 Kbps when connected to the web. The speed comes down to 35 Kbps when the telephone is used for voice communication. And the system is suitable for both rural and urban areas.
Currently, the corDECT system has been installed at Kuppam village in Andhra Pradesh, connecting villagers to Net and telephone. "We have set up the system at a cost per line of $450," said Ashok Jhunjhunwala, faculty member of IIT Madras. He also said that Satyam Infoway has decided to use the system in Hyderabad and World Tel in Chennai. World Tel also has plans of using this system in rural areas while providing Net connectivity using railways communication network.
The corDECT system is the most visible proof of positive industry-institute linkage in this country. Today, some more companies like Banyan Networks and Polaris Software Lab Ltd., Chennai, are involved in developing further solutions.
The system consists of six sub-systems : - DECT Interface Unit (DIU), that interfaces to public switch telephone network (PSTN) and ISPs.
- Compact Base Station (CBS) that provides wireless access on twelve simultaneous channels.
- Base Station Distributor (BSD), which connects four remotely located CBS to DIU using E1 link.
- Wall Set IP (WSIP), located at the customer premises and connected to CBS.
- Multi Wall Set (MWS), catering to multiple subscribers at the same geographical location. It supports up to four subscribers, thereby substantially reducing the cost per subscriber.
- Hand Set (HS), a small, lightweight portable battery-operated telephone.
Each corDECT system comprises of one DIU, 20 CBS and 1,000 subscriber wall sets. The system is configured to capacity scale-ups.
According to Shirish B. Purohit, director, Midas Communication Technologies, the corDECT air interface supports 10 km line-of-sight links and has provision to extend this range up to 35 km with the help of a Relay Base Station.
That aside, in order to manage the communication networks -- telecom, ISP, cellular -- the TeNet group, along with Polaris Software Lab, has developed Cygnet, a web-based integrated network management system, said Timothy A. Gonsalves, IIT-Madras.
Optima, the fibre access network, is yet another system developed by the TeNet group and Midas Communication Technologies, for providing access systems that are standards-based, cost effective and future-proof.
In India, three companies -- Himachal Futuristic
Communications Ltd and Shyam Telecom Ltd, Delhi, and ARM Ltd, Andhra Pradesh -- have been licensed to manufacture the corDECT systems.
After much trials and tribulations, the manufacturers were able to sell their system to MTNL, Delhi, and to DoT (Bhopal). On the other hand, the system has been installed successfully despite stiff MNC competition in countries like Fiji, Madagascar, Yemen, Kenya. The cost per line under this system works out to just $400 as against the conventional line which costs around Rs 40,000 per line, and other WLL systems.
When queried about the claim of the Chennai-based telecom equipment manufacturer, HTL Ltd, that its WLL system, developed with technical assistance from Motorola, costs just Rs 6,000 and over, Manjit Singh, president, Himachal Futuristic Communications, replies, "That figure doesn't include the access terminal, costing Rs 20,000. The price quoted by them for MTNL's tender is an equated price."
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