Broadband

April 15, 2005
C-DOT, Alcatel sign MoU to establish R&D center in India

NEW DELHI -- Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), premier telecom R&D center of the government of India, and Alcatel, the French telecom major, recently signed an MoU for establishing a joint global R&D center in India to undertake R&D work in the field of broadband wireless access. Various short term and long term projects in the field of wireless access technologies are proposed to be taken up in different phases by the centre.

The first R&D project to be implemented jointly will be related to WiMAX technology based on emerging IEEE 802.16e standard and its evolutions. In particular, it will be an excellent alternative initially to Indian rural broadband requirements, and will be compliant to Indian broadband business user needs and spectrum allocation. The solution will cater to volume global markets.

WiMax 802.16-based systems are likely to provide mobility, high data rates and long-distance coverage. While the presently available Wi-Fi caters to short-distance hotspots, the WiMAX technology can be deployed in wireless backbone as well as mobile access networks. Apart from the development of latest wireless technologies, the partnership also envisages industrialization and volume production of WiMAX solutions in India, finally assisting the telecom manufacturing sector as well.

The agreement will push forward the government of India plan of bringing the advantages of broadband services to urban subscribers as well as to rural masses. The joint project will also provide an appropriate platform for tele-education, tele-health, e-information and e-governance apart from fulfilling telecom service needs of the mobile users.

Contact:
C-DOT
www.cdot.com