Paving the way for rural India broadband network

The next-generation FWA brings new life to service providers, allowing them to provide broadband in dense and difficult terrains

As the digital divide persists worldwide, billions of dollars are being allocated to narrow connectivity gaps across the globe. Since scant progress in the effort to connect rural India was made in the last two years, India’s Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw recently announced an investment of $30 billion to ensure last-mile connectivity in every Indian village. Under this initiative, the government plans to connect approximately 80,000 new homes every month.

Rural India has very little fibre optic infrastructure to date, and the recent lack of progress to reach villages in those regions is certainly due, at least in part, to the high costs and lengthy timelines to deploy fibre. On average, it costs between $60,000 and $80,000 to bury a mile of fibre optic cable, and the time to complete a full fibre network is typically measured in years.

Unlike its predecessors, ngFWA has a strong immunity to interference in crowded radio frequencies and the ability to connect in non-line-of-sight scenarios.

Historically, these factors have limited the ability of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to offer high-speed connectivity to only larger cities and a few villages equipped with fibre. In the outskirts of these areas, let alone in deeply rural locations, they are forced to settle for unreliable, low-performance wireless broadband equipment to serve their customers. This infrastructure shortage and the absence of a quality wireless option are the primary reasons that India’s connected population relies predominantly on mobile devices and is only marginally covered by residential broadband. However, with recent developments in the fixed broadband space, there is potential to significantly increase the number of households passed and served throughout the country.

The power of ngFWA

Next-generation fixed wireless access (ngFWA) is a new, unique technology created — from its purpose-built custom silicon to its unique antenna designs and everything in between — specifically to deliver fast, affordable residential broadband at a large scale. With the industry’s first instance of true interference cancellation and the ability to connect in non-line-of-sight scenarios, ngFWA has solved the two major challenges that significantly limited the performance of legacy fixed wireless access (FWA) solutions.

Operators in several countries are deploying ngFWA to complete government-funded broadband projects in a more cost-efficient manner.

Unlike its predecessors, ngFWA has a strong immunity to interference in crowded radio frequencies and the effects of obstructions like trees or buildings in the signal path, and can still deliver reliable high-speed Internet. This breakthrough capability is making it possible for ISPs to connect previously unreachable areas and homes with quality wireless broadband and excellent network economics.

Now with minister Vaishnaw’s announcement and other resources designated to narrowing the digital divide in India, the region’s ISPs have a large opportunity to accelerate progress on that effort with ngFWA. Eliminating the need to build large fibre networks throughout entire villages, next-gen fixed wireless can enable them to cover entire communities with far less infrastructure, significantly lower budgets, and in a matter of months rather than years.

In the United States and several other countries, many operators are realising these benefits and deploying ngFWA to complete their government-funded broadband projects in a more cost-efficient manner. ngFWA can deliver high-performance connectivity where it was formerly impossible in rural India and also stretch the money allocated to closing those connectivity gaps much further, ultimately allowing operators to serve more homes.

ngFWA is the first truly fibre-class wireless broadband solution, which has been the missing piece in India’s broadband landscape.

The wireless technology can bring new life to ISPs in India, allowing them to expand into new territories and grow their businesses, even permitting them to compete with incumbent providers in many areas. ngFWA is the first truly fibre-class wireless broadband solution, which has been the missing piece in India’s residential broadband landscape for decades.

As it continues to prove to be the optimal choice for service providers and grows in popularity all over the world, ngFWA will be especially transformative for Indian ISPs and the communities they serve in 2023.

By Rabin Patra

Patra is the Co-Founder and Chief Software Architect of Tarana Wireless India

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